◀ anchor ▶
North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the East Sea today.
It is the 17th armed provocation this year, following the missile launch in four days of the Korea-US summit.
Military authorities believe the launch was a mixture of intercontinental ballistic missiles, ICBMs, and short-range ballistic missiles.
Reporter Hong Eui-pyo reports.
◀ Report ▶
The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced today that it had detected a ballistic missile launched by North Korea from the Sunan area of Pyongyang into the East Sea at around 6 am, 6:37 am, and 6:42 am.
The first ballistic missile is believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile, an ICBM, with a flight range of regarding 360 kilometers and an altitude of 540 kilometers.
The second and third ballistic missiles are presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs).
North Korea’s armed protests are the 17th this year, four days following the South Korea-US summit, and the second provocation since the inauguration of the Yun Seok-yeol government.
“While we are strengthening surveillance and vigilance, South Korea and the United States are closely cooperating and maintaining a fully prepared posture,” the military said.
In particular, this time, the South Korean and American forces launched a joint response, firing one each of the South Korean military’s Hyunmoo-II ballistic missile and the US military’s Atacms missile into the East Sea.
The South Korean Air Force also caught the signs of North Korea’s provocation in advance and conducted a large-scale fighter training, ‘Elephant Walk’, in preparation for an actual launch yesterday morning.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff described the joint missile response as “a demonstration of the rapid strike capability of the combined forces to deter further North Korean provocations.”
“The launch of an ICBM by North Korea is another violation of the suspension of ICBM launch promised by North Korea to the international community, and it is a violation of ‘UN Security Council resolutions’ and a serious provocation.”
This is Eui-pyo Hong from MBC News.
MBC News awaits your report 24 hours a day.
▷ Tel 02-784-4000
▷ Email mbcjebo@mbc.co.kr
▷ KakaoTalk @mbc report