North Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles for second time in a week
North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday toward its east coast, South Korea and Japan said.
North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday toward its east coast, South Korea and Japan said, days after Pyongyang unveiled a uranium enrichment facility and vowed to beef up its nuclear arsenal.
The missiles lifted off from Kaechon, north of the capital, Pyongyang, around 6:50 a.m. (5:50 p.m. Tuesday ET) in a northeast direction and flew about 250 miles, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, without specifying how many were fired and where they landed.
“We strongly condemn North Korea’s missile launch as a clear provocation that seriously threatens the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula,” the JCS said in a statement, vowing overwhelming responses to any further provocations.
About 30 minutes after its first missile notice, Japan’s coast guard said North Korea fired another ballistic missile. Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said at least one of the missiles fell near the North’s eastern inland coast and that the launches “cannot be tolerated.”
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said on X that it was aware of the launches and consulting closely with Seoul and Tokyo.
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