North Korea fires missiles after border breach warning | Today’s news
North Korea fired several ballistic missiles off its east coast on Monday, days after warning Seoul of retaliation if its territory was violated.
The missiles were launched from Pyongyang and some of them flew more than 900 kilometers, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. It is North Korea’s fourth ballistic missile test in about a month, including the latest one a week earlier, when Pyongyang said it tested an intermediate-range strategic missile with hypersonic capabilities.
South Korea held an emergency security meeting on Monday and called on North Korea to stop repeated missile launches. “They violate UN Security Council resolutions and represent serious actions that do not contribute to managing the current situation on the Korean Peninsula,” the presidential office said in a statement.
The missiles appear to have landed in the sea between the Koreas and Japan. Sanae Takaichi, the island nation’s prime minister, ordered officials to ensure the safety of aircraft and vessels and be fully prepared for any unforeseen developments, according to the government’s crisis management center.
The launches follow a demining operation along the two countries’ heavily fortified border that Seoul carried out after three South Korean soldiers were injured in a landmine explosion. Seoul said the mine came from North Korea. North Korea has denied any wrongdoing and called the results of the investigation a fabrication.
In response to the demining operations, North Korea’s foreign ministry said Pyongyang would not tolerate even a “millimeter” of intrusion into its territory.
While South Korea tried to prevent the incident from escalating, the two Koreas have since continued to flex their military muscles. Days after North Korea said it had tested a new hypersonic weapon system, South Korea said it had successfully tested a hypersonic glide vehicle.
Hypersonic glide vehicles, or HGVs, are warheads that can maneuver through the atmosphere en route to a target, extending range and complicating interception.
“Our military is closely monitoring North Korea’s various activities and maintains the capability and posture to respond overwhelmingly to any provocations,” South Korea’s JCS said.
With help from Shinhye Kang, Myungshin Cho and Atsuko Fukase.
This article was generated from an automated news agency source without text modification.
