North Korea fires short-range missile towards Yellow Sea: South Korea military
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A file photo showing a strategic cruise missile launching drill staged in Kim Chaek City, North Korea, in Feb 2023.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
SEOUL - North Korea on Thursday fired a short-range ballistic missile towards the Yellow Sea, located between China and the Korean peninsula, said South Korea’s military.
The launch follows a statement on Tuesday by Ms Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, that any move to shoot down one of North Korea’s test missiles would be considered a declaration of war.
The missile was fired at about 6.20pm local time from around the North Korean city of Nampo, said South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff in a statement.
The US Indo-Pacific Command said the missile did not pose an immediate threat to the United States or its allies.
“We are aware of the ballistic missile launch and are consulting closely with our allies and partners,” it said.
“While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to our allies, the missile launch highlights the destabilising impact of (North Korea’s) unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programmes,” it added, referring to weapons of mass destruction.
On Tuesday, North Korea blamed a joint military exercise between the US and South Korea for growing tensions, state media KCNA said.
Both countries will conduct large-scale military exercises known as the “Freedom Shield” drills starting next week. The drills are expected to be some of the largest the two have held in years.
“Since September 2022, North Korea has timed its missile launches and military demonstrations to counter US-South Korea exercises, probably to attempt to coerce the United States and South Korea to change their behaviour,” said US intelligence agencies in a threat assessment report on Wednesday.
The last time North Korea launched a missile into the Pacific was in October 2022, when it fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan, flying about 4,600km and marking the longest distance travelled by one of its missiles to date.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May 2022, brought back joint military exercises with the US. The drills were scaled down or halted under former president Donald Trump, who was hoping the move would facilitate his nuclear negotiations with Mr Kim. REUTERS, BLOOMBERG