North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Monday, the South Korean military announced, less than 48 hours after joint military exercises between Washington and Seoul.
Initially, South Korean military officials only mentioned the launch of a missile.
“Our military detected two short-range ballistic missiles fired this morning from the Sukchon areas in South Pyongan province between 07:00 and 07:01 (local time),” the South Korean general staff said.
At the same time, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened to retaliate against joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington.
“The use of the Pacific as a shooting range depends on [das ações] of US forces,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.
Yo Jong also threatened Seoul and Washington with “equivalent” actions after joint exercises they carried out on Sunday with B-1 strategic bombers, an action to respond to Pyongyang’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday that crashed on Saturday. against Japanese. Waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone (ZEE).
“We are aware of the recent acceleration on the Korean peninsula of the movements of US forces capable of carrying out strategic strikes,” the North Korean leader added.
Pyongyang previously threatened an “unprecedented” response to the annual spring military exercises Seoul and Washington are preparing for March, which the regime described as “preparations for a war of aggression.”
On Friday, North Korea launched its Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile from the east coast in the first such test since January 1, crashing into the Sea of Japan.
In response to this release, the Japanese government, through the voice of the Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, condemned a “scandalous” act that “increased the provocation against the international community.”
“We will continue to do our best to collect intelligence, warn, and monitor, and we will work closely with the United States and South Korea,” Kishida added.
Next week, the South Korean and US militaries will also hold a tabletop exercise at the Pentagon simulating a nuclear attack by Pyongyang.
In 2022, North Korea carried out a record number of missile launches, around fifty, in many cases in response to the joint maneuvers of the two allies and the strengthening of the US strategic presence on the peninsula.
Source: TSF
