Seoul [South Korea], December 18 (ANI): North Korea fired an unspecified ballistic missile in the direction of the East Sea within the early hours of Monday, Yonhap news company reported citing the South Korean army.
This got here simply hours after Pyongyang launched a short-range missile, amid hypothesis that the most recent one may very well be an intercontinental ballistic missile.
“North Korea has launched a suspected ballistic missile. More updates to follow,” posted the PM’s Office of Japan on X.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) stated it detected the launch however didn’t give additional particulars.
Earlier on Sunday, North Korea fired a short-range missile from in or round Pyongyang at 10:38 pm (native time) and it flew about 570 kilometres earlier than splashing into the East Sea, in response to the JCS.
Notably, this back-to-back missile launch got here after South Korea’s First Deputy National Security Adviser, Kim Tae-hyo, stated a number of days earlier that the North may hearth an ICBM inside this month.
The firings additionally got here days after South Korea and the US held the second session of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) and agreed to finish the institution of pointers on the planning and operation of a shared nuclear technique by the center of subsequent yr, Yonhap news company reported.
Just after Sunday’s launch, the North’s defence ministry lambasted the NCG assembly as “an open declaration on nuclear confrontation” and criticised the US deployment of main army belongings to the Korean Peninsula this yr.
North Korea’s newest missile launch got here amid heightened tensions after Pyongyang scrapped a 2018 inter-Korean army settlement designed to cut back tensions and stop unintentional clashes alongside the border final month.
Seoul had partially suspended the deal in protest of Pyongyang’s profitable launch of its first army spy satellite tv for pc on November 21.
North Korea had final fired a ballistic missile on November 22, however the launch apparently failed, in response to the JCS, Yonhap news company reported. (ANI)