South Korea’s military said North Korea fired a ballistic missile off the country’s east coast on Monday, a day after it vowed to respond “aggressively and overwhelmingly” in protest at new U.S. military drills with South Korea and Japan.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launch took place Monday morning but did not provide details such as the range of the weapon.
The launch came two days after South Korea, the United States and Japan concluded new multi-domain trilateral training. “Freedom Edge” involved U.S. aircraft carriers, destroyers, fighter jets and helicopters from the three countries, and the three nations conducted missile defense, anti-submarine and maritime interdiction training.
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry issued a lengthy statement on Sunday strongly condemning the three-way military exercise with the United States, South Korea and Japan. It called the exercise an “Asian version of NATO that openly destroys the security environment on the Korean Peninsula” and said it reflected U.S. intentions to pressure Russia and encircle China.
South Korea announces North Korean hypersonic missile launch failed in flight
FILE – A North Korean flag flies next to accordion wire. (Reuters/Edgar Su)
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it would “resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and interests as well as regional peace through aggressive and overwhelming countermeasures.”
Monday’s launch was North Korea’s first weapons test in five days. Last Wednesday, North Korea fired what it described as a multiple warhead missile, the first test of an advanced weapon it is developing aimed at defeating U.S. and South Korean missile defenses. North Korea said the launch was successful, but South Korea dismissed the North’s claim as a subterfuge to cover up a failed launch.
North Korea has sent numerous garbage-filled balloons towards South Korea in recent weeks in retaliation for South Korean activists using North Korean balloons to drop political leaflets.
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Meanwhile, North Korea held a key ruling party meeting on Friday to decide on “important and pressing issues” related to efforts to further strengthen Korean-style socialism. During a session on the second day of the meeting on Saturday, Kim Jong Un spoke about “several deviations that are impeding” efforts to improve the country’s economic situation, as well as unspecified key tasks to resolve pressing policy issues, North Korean state media reported on Sunday.
