SEOUL: North Korea fired about 10 ballistic missiles toward the sea of Japan Saturday, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills.
Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce”.
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Seoul’s military detected “around ten ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea at around 1:20pm (0420 GMT),” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water.
The missiles flew a distance of around 350 kilometres, they said adding that South Korean and US authorities are analysing their exact specifications.
The South Korean military is ready to “respond overwhelmingly to any provocation,” JCS added.
Japan’s defence ministry also confirmed North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles that reached a maximum altitude of about 80 kilometres and fell outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone near the Korean Peninsula’s east coast.
Seoul’s presidential Blue House condemned the launches as a “provocation that violates United Nations Security Council resolutions” and urged Pyongyang to immediately stop such acts.
It also ordered relevant agencies to maintain heightened readiness, as the launch occurred during the joint US-South Korea military drills.
Analysts said the number of the missiles launched on Saturday was unusual, and that the timing was notable.
“Global attention is currently focused on the war in the Middle East and North Korea has historically carried out military provocations when it wants to draw attention to its presence,” Hong Sung-pyo, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for Military Affairs, told AFP.
“And that motive likely underlies this launch as well,” he added.
Seoul and Washington kicked off their springtime military drills “Freedom Shield” on Monday, which will involve about 18,000 Korean troops and run until March 19.
The nuclear-armed North, which attacked its neighbour in 1950 triggering the Korean War, has long described such exercises as rehearsals for invasion.
