N Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles towards East Sea
A missile is fired during a joint training between the US and South Korea at an undisclosed location in South Korea, Monday, June 6, 2022. - AP/Filepic
SEOUL: North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) towards the East Sea on Sunday, Yonhap news agency reported, citing the South Korean military.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launches from the Munchon area in Gangwon Province between 1.48 am and 1.58 am, and that the missiles flew some 350 kilometres at apogees of around 90 km at top speeds of Mach 5.
Given the distance and altitude, the projectiles are presumed to be "super-large calibre" missiles, fired from a multiple rocket launch system, known as the KN-25, according to observers in Seoul.
The launch, the North's seventh missile provocation in two weeks, followed the conclusion of the South Korea-U.S. exercise, involving the USS Ronald Reagan carrier, on Saturday and of the allies' trilateral drills with Japan on Thursday.
It also came on the eve of the 77th anniversary of the founding of the North's ruling Workers' Party.
"The recent series of North Korea's ballistic missiles is an act of significant provocation that undermines peace not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in the international community, and a clear breach of UN Security Council resolutions," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.
It added, "Our military will maintain a firm readiness posture while tracking and monitoring related movements in close cooperation with the US in preparation against additional provocations."
In a statement, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said that the latest launches highlight the "destabilising" impact of the North's "unlawful" weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programmes.
The USS Ronald Reagan carrier was redeployed to waters east of the peninsula Wednesday, a day after Pyongyang fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan.
On Saturday, a spokesperson of the North's defence ministry took issue with the carrier's deployment, calling it an "event of considerably huge negative splash to the regional situation."
Also on the day, the North's National Aviation Administration (NAA) said Pyongyang's missile test is a "self-defensive" step against what it sees as US military threats.
-- BERNAMA
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