What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
Kim Jong-un’s North Korea fired four short-range ballistic missiles towards the Yellow Sea on Saturday, further escalating tension with South Korea.
The South Korean military said it detected the launches from Tongrim in North Pyongan, its joint chief of defence staff said in a statement.
Saturday’s launches come in backdrops of rising tension in the Korean peninsula over a joint military drill between the United States and South Korea and Pyongyang firing a barrage of missiles over the week.
On Thursday, North Korea launched as many as 23 missiles – most in a day, including a possible failed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), prompting the US and South Korea to announce an extension of its military exercise by a day up to Saturday.
One of the 23 missile batteries landed less than 60 kms off the South Korean city of Sokcho. In response, the South fired three air-to-ground from warplanes over the disputed maritime demarcation line.
An angered North Korea again responded by firing six more missiles and more than 100 artillery shells.
According to media reports, Thursday’s launch of ICBM – the most powerful by the North – had prompted Japan to issue evacuation alerts in some parts of the country. However, Tokyo later said that the warning that North Korea’s ICBM flew over the archipelago was wrong but warned that North Korea is preparing to conduct a nuclear test.
Saturday’s launches are the latest in a series of weapon tests by the North that have raised tension in the region.
Pyongyang has called the US-South Korea military exercises as “aggressive and provocative”. Earlier this week, the country issued a veiled threat to use nuclear weapons if the US and the South continue with their joint military drills. “They will have to pay the most horrible price in history,” it said.
North Korea is said to have launched a record number of missile tests this year even as harsh sanctions by the United States and western countries have crippled its economy.
Pyongyang has conducted six nuclear tests between 2006 and 2017, and is reportedly planning to carry out the seventh. Under Kim’s administration, North Korea has gone ahead with its plan to advance its military capabilities, ignoring the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions in order to threaten South Korea and other neighbours and to even bring the mainland US within its striking range.
