North Korea fires two short-range missiles into East Sea
SEOUL: North Korea today fired two short-range missiles from near its east coast town of Wonsan into the East Sea, Yonhap news agency reported, quoting South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
The incident came amid growing uncertainty over the prospects for working-level talks that the leaders of North Korea and the US agreed to hold in the near future when they met at the inter-Korean border last month.
“(The North) fired one short-range missile at around 5.34 am and the other at 5.57 am from Hodo Peninsula near its eastern coastal town of Wonsan into the East Sea,” the JCS said.
One missile flew around 430 kilometres and the other appeared to travel a bit farther based upon an analysis by the US, a JCS officer said, adding that both flew at an altitude of around 50 kilometres.
They were presumed to have been fired from a transporter erector launcher (TEL) and landed in the East Sea, the officer noted.
“We believe that (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un has recently stayed in the region, and summer time military drills are now under way in the North. We have been closely monitoring the situation,” he noted.
More analysis is needed to verify if they were ballistic missiles or not and whether they were the same type of short-range missiles that the North test-fired twice in May, according to the officer.
“Our military is closely monitoring the situation in case of additional launches while maintaining a readiness posture,” the JCS said.
Given the flight range, Pyongyang appears to have test-fired its version of Russia’s Iskander ballistic missiles, just as it did back in May, according to experts.
On May 4, the North launched a fusillade of projectiles, which involved “a new type of tactical guided weapon” and 240-mm and 300-mm multiple rocket launcher systems.
Five days later, it fired a barrage of projectiles, including two short-range missiles.
Though Seoul and Washington have not confirmed the exact types of the missiles, Defence Minister Jeong Kyeong Doo said he believes the weapons North Korea fired in two rounds of tests in May were nearly the same type, though some differences have been spotted.
Bernama
