Seoul (South Korea), 12 Aug. (LaPresse/AP) – North Korea has carried out its second ballistic missile test in less than a week, likely as a form of protest against the forthcoming joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that a ballistic missile launched from the eastern coastal area of Wonsan, in the North, at around 6 am (midnight Italian time), travelled over 700 kilometres. The Japanese Ministry of Defence also detected the launch, stating that the missile fell into waters outside its exclusive economic zone, between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The South Korean armed forces said they remain ready to repel any provocation from Pyongyang in cooperation with the United States. South Korea’s National Security Council described North Korea’s ballistic missile launches as “acts of provocation” and urged North Korea to halt them immediately. Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters that Japan had lodged a strong protest against the North Korean launch via its embassies in Beijing. “This is a serious issue that affects the security of the Japanese people,” he said.
North Korea: ballistic missile launched into the sea
Seoul (South Korea), 12 Aug. (LaPresse/AP) – North Korea has carried out its second ballistic missile test in less than a week, likely as a form of protest against the forthcoming joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that a ballistic missile launched from the eastern coastal area of Wonsan, in the North, at around 6 am (midnight Italian time), travelled over 700 kilometres. The Japanese Ministry of Defence also detected the launch, stating that the missile fell into waters outside its exclusive economic zone, between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The South Korean armed forces said they remain ready to repel any provocation from Pyongyang in cooperation with the United States. South Korea’s National Security Council described North Korea’s ballistic missile launches as “acts of provocation” and urged North Korea to halt them immediately. Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters that Japan had lodged a strong protest against the North Korean launch via its embassies in Beijing. “This is a serious issue that affects the security of the Japanese people,” he said.