Thursday, the South Korean military said that North Korea launched what seemed like a missile bombardment into its eastern sea. This comes days after North Korea’s failed effort to launch a military spy satellite, which still garnered significant condemnation from its adversaries.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea said that they had detected the North launching around ten what seemed like short-range ballistic missiles from a location close to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.
The missiles reportedly traveled 217 kilometers before touching down in the eastern North Sea. According to the report, the South Korean military is monitoring the situation closely and exchanging information with Japan and the US.
According to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the missiles likely touched down in international seas, far from Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
The Japanese coast guard has issued a warning to mariners to be careful if they come across any debris.
In a never-ending cycle of tit-for-tat, tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been rising in recent months due to the rapid acceleration of North Korea’s weapon tests and South Korea’s joint military drills with the US and Japan. In retribution for South Korean activists sending anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border, North Korea had been launching hundreds of poop-carrying balloons into the South since Tuesday night.
Just hours before attempting to launch its second military spy satellite, North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, issued a warning to South Korea following an airborne drill involving 20 fighter planes near the inter-Korean border.
Despite the rocket’s explosion soon after takeoff, Kim has ordered his military scientists to push through the setback and keep working on space-based reconnaissance capabilities, which he said were vital for keeping tabs on the US and South Korean militaries and increasing the danger posed by his nuclear missiles.
This year, the North conducted flight tests of what it said was a solid-fuel intermediate-range missile with hypersonic warhead capabilities, among other cruise missiles and artillery systems. According to experts, its intended target is Guam, a military stronghold in the Pacific, as well as other distant U.S. locations.
