OMM Redaksiyası
North Korea fired several ballistic missiles toward waters near its eastern coast on Monday, South Korean officials said. It was Pyongyang’s fourth missile launch in a month and came after Seoul tested a hypersonic missile.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were launched at about 9:20 a.m. local time (00:20 GMT). One of the missiles, which appeared to be of different types, travelled more than 900 kilometers.
Japan’s Coast Guard earlier said North Korea had launched two unidentified objects believed to be ballistic missiles. Both may already have fallen into the sea, it said.
Seoul says launches violate UN resolutions
South Korea’s National Security Office held an emergency meeting, condemned the launches as violations of UN Security Council resolutions and urged Pyongyang to halt such actions immediately.
North Korea has been under UN sanctions since 2006 aimed at curbing its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
Launches follow Seoul’s hypersonic missile test
The latest launches came amid rising tensions between the two Koreas, both of which have been conducting weapons tests. Last week, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung observed the country’s first test-firing of a hypersonic missile. It is unusual for a South Korean president to attend such a test publicly.
A spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff described Monday’s launches as a show of force in response to Seoul’s successful hypersonic missile test and as a demonstration of North Korea’s missile capabilities.
North Korea last launched a ballistic missile on October 3. State media KCNA said the test involved a hypersonic missile and was overseen by leader Kim Jong Un.
The tests followed a land-mine explosion near the border last month that injured three South Korean soldiers. Seoul said North Korea had planted the mines and demanded an apology. Pyongyang denied the allegation and accused South Korea of provocation.
North Korea has conducted more than 10 missile tests this year, four of them in the past month.
Son Seong-jong, a professor at Daejeon University in Seoul and a former South Korean Ministry of National Defense official, said the unusually frequent tests suggested Pyongyang was seeking to strengthen its position ahead of a possible meeting between Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump.
“They absolutely need to raise the value of their status before a meeting with Trump,” Son said.
