North Korea shoots yet another missile
seoul — North Korea on Sunday test-fired a ballistic missile, the latest in a series of launches which have sparked international condemnation and threats of tougher UN sanctions.
South Korea described the launch, the second in a week and the eighth this year, as “reckless and irresponsible” while the US military stressed “ironclad commitment” to defend its allies in the region.
The missile, described by Washington as a medium-range one, was fired from Pukchang in South Pyongan province and travelled about 500 kilometres, according to the South’s armed forces.
“Our military is closely monitoring signs for additional provocation by the North Korean military and we are keeping a full military readiness,” said a statement from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The launch came just one week
Our military is closely monitoring signs for additional provocation by the North Korean military and we are keeping a full military readiness
South Korea army
after the North fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range missile, which according to Pyongyang flew almost 800 km and was capable of carrying a “heavy” nuclear warhead. Analysts said the Hwasong travelled further than any previous ballistic missile launched by the North.
The launches, and a threatened sixth nuclear test, have fuelled tension with the administration of US President Donald Trump, who has vowed that such an ICBM launch “won’t happen”. A White House official visiting Saudi Arabia with Trump appeared to play down Sun- day’s firing. “We are aware that North Korea launched an MRBM (medium-range ballistic missile). This system, last tested in February, has a shorter range than the missiles launched in North Korea’s three most recent tests,” the official said. But the South’s foreign ministry slammed the “reckless and irresponsible” firing as “throwing cold water on the hope of the new government. —