◀ anchor ▶
North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the East Sea this afternoon.
Three days have passed since the launch of a short-range ballistic missile last Monday, and an unusual provocation took place while South Korea and the United States were conducting joint exercises.
This is reporter Kim Jun-seok.
◀ Report ▶
Two short-range ballistic missiles launched into the East Sea from the Sunan area of Pyongyang, North Korea at 6:10pm today, were intercepted by the military.
The launch lasted about 10 minutes, and missile specifications such as range and altitude and speed are being analyzed.
Three days have passed since the North Korean version of the so-called Iskander, a short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile, was launched from the Taecheon area of Pyeongbuk into the East Sea on the 25th. .
North Korea has launched ballistic missiles 18 times this year and cruise missiles twice, but this is the sixth time since the Yun Seok-yeol administration came to power.
Japanese media reported that North Korean missiles fell outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
In the East Sea, where North Korea launched a missile, naval exercises of South Korea and the United States are underway with the participation of the nuclear aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and others.
North Korea has conducted missile launches mostly as a threat before or after a joint ROK-US exercise, but it is unusual for the missile to be launched during the training period.
They seem to be aware of the situation where joint South Korea-US exercises were going to be intense even with earlier ballistic missile launches.
[문성묵/한국국가전략연구원 통일전략센터장]
“In the past, they had refrained from provocations during training. They fired a few days ago, but they went ahead as planned, and with the highest intensity, it was an armed demonstration against him.”
It also appears to be aimed at the visit of US Vice President Harris, who is scheduled to visit South Korea tomorrow and visit the demilitarized zone.
A joint South Korea-US exercise is due to end tomorrow, and the military said it would prepare for further North Korean provocations while working closely with the US.
This is Kim Jun-seok from MBC News.
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