North Korea fires two missiles after end of joint drills by U.S., South Korea and Japan
North Korea test-fired two ballistic missile Monday but one of them possibly flew abnormally, South Korea’s military said.
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea test-fired two ballistic missiles Monday but one of them possibly flew abnormally, South Korea’s military said, a day after the North vowed “offensive and overwhelming” responses to a new U.S. military drill with South Korea and Japan.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the missiles were launched 10 minutes apart in a northeasterly direction from the town of Jangyon in southeastern North Korea.
It said the first missile flew 370 miles and the second missile 75 miles, but did not say where they landed. North Korea typically test-fires missiles toward its eastern waters, but the second missile’s flight distance was too short to reach those waters.
Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Lee Sung Joon later told a briefing that the second missile suffered a possible abnormal flight during the initial stage of its flight. He said if the missile exploded, its debris would most likely have scattered on the ground though no damages were immediately reported. Lee said additional analysis of the second missile launch was underway.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff condemned the North’s launches as a provocation that poses a serious threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula. It said South Korea maintains a firm readiness to repel any provocations by North Korea in conjunction with the United States.
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