South Korea’s military said North Korea fired what appeared to be a short-range ballistic missile off its east coast on Friday, a day after the United States and South Korea held joint military exercises.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was fired from the Wonsan area on North Korea’s east coast, flew about 185 miles and landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. According to the Associated Press, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said a North Korean missile landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
The missile test, which South Korea called an “obvious provocation,” came a day after the United States and South Korea flew fighter jets in a joint exercise that North Korea says poses a serious security threat.
A statement from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said South Korea maintains firm readiness to repel a potential invasion by North Korea, along with military support from the United States.
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A file image of a North Korean missile launch appears on a television screen during a news program at Seoul Station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 17, 2024. North Korea launched a ballistic missile from its east coast on Friday, South Korea’s military announced. He made the remarks a day after South Korea and the United States flew powerful fighter jets for a joint exercise that North Korea considers a serious security threat. (AP Photo/Ahn Young Jun)
North Korea has extended its weapons tests in recent months as part of efforts to expand and modernize its arsenal, but diplomatic relations with the United States and South Korea remain at a standstill. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week oversaw a test launch of a new multiple rocket launch system, according to North Korean state media.
North Korea claims it is being forced to strengthen its nuclear and missile programs to deal with U.S.-led hostilities. North Korea cites the expansion of military drills between the US and South Korea, which it calls a rehearsal for invasion, as the reason for the move. Many foreign experts say North Korea is using its rival’s military exercises as a pretext to build a larger weapons arsenal, believing it will increase its influence in future diplomacy with the United States.
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In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (center) supervises artillery training in North Korea on Thursday, March 7, 2024. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Agency, Associated Press)
Thursday’s joint military exercise involved two South Korean F-35As and two American F-22 Raptors, flying over central South Korea, according to the Associated Press.
North Korean state media said Friday that the deployment of U.S. F-22s to South Korea, the first in seven months, was “another clear proof of the hostile nature of the United States” as it called for “armed confrontation” with North Korea. Stated. The state-run Korean Central News Agency, the North Korean government’s mouthpiece, accused South Korea’s “military gangs” of escalating tensions to align with the “Lord’s plan of confrontation” against North Korea.
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Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, attends a wreath-laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, on March 2, 2019. (Pool photo via Jorge Silva/AP)
KCNA warned that the F-22’s high-altitude flights “will only facilitate a situation that the United States does not want.” However, the warning did not provide any specific details.
Kim Yo-chang, Kim’s sister and a senior official, said in a statement Friday that North Korea’s recent weapons tests were part of a five-year military buildup plan that began in 2021. Kim said the ballistic missile tested on Friday was designed to attack South Korea’s capital Seoul and the capital. She denied outside speculation that the test was aimed at demonstrating weapons that North Korea intended to sell to Russia.
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In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Yo Jong said: “We have not hidden the fact that such weapons will be used to thwart the South Korean government’s mischievous ideas.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
