North Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles toward East Sea
North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Wednesday, according to South Korea’s military, marking a consecutive day of weapons activity following President Lee Jae Myung’s expression of regret over unauthorized drone flights into the North.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced that the missiles were detected at approximately 8:50 a.m., having been fired from the Wonsan area, News.Az reports, citing Yonhap.
The missiles traveled an estimated distance of around 240 kilometers. This incident represents North Korea’s fourth confirmed ballistic missile launch so far this year.
“Our military is closely monitoring North Korea’s various activities under a strong South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture and maintains full readiness to respond decisively to any provocation,” the JCS stated.
The JCS also noted that intelligence authorities from South Korea and the United States had been tracking the launch preparations and shared relevant information in real time.
The latest missile launch occurred just one day after North Korea fired an unidentified projectile from the Pyongyang area on Tuesday. That launch is still under analysis by South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies.
The projectile launched Tuesday morning is believed to have failed shortly after liftoff, as it disappeared soon after being fired.
The back-to-back launches came after President Lee expressed regret over drone flights by individuals into the North on Monday.
At a Cabinet meeting, Lee expressed regret over the drone flights, saying that the incidents have caused unnecessary military tension with Pyongyang. His remarks came after prosecutors last week indicted three individuals accused of flying drones into North Korea between September and January.
News.Az
By Nijat Babayev
