North Korea fires another ballistic missile
North Korea Seoul fired another ballistic missile into the sea off the east coast of the Korean peninsula on Sunday, according to Seoul sources. “Our military has detected a short-range missile” that was launched at 11:05 a.m. (local time, 03:05 a.m. CET) from North Pyongan province, South Korea’s general staff said. Japan’s Defense Ministry confirmed that a “possible ballistic missile” had been launched by North Korea.
South Korea The Joint Chiefs of Staff affirmed that “our military, in close cooperation with the US, maintains a full preparedness.”
Japan’s Coast Guard warned ships of what “appears to be a ballistic missile launched by North Korea.” The bullet seems to have “already crashed,” it said.
The military tensions on the Korean peninsula have recently increased drastically. The communist leadership Pyongyang threatens again and again with a military escalation in the region. In the face of North Korea’s ongoing provocations, South Korea and the United States have increased their defense cooperation.
They started on Monday USA and South Korea held their largest joint military exercises in five years. They described the 10-day “Freedom Shield” maneuver as a response to the “changing security environment” in the region following North Korea’s increased aggression in recent months. The exercises should continue until Thursday.
North Korea warns of ‘unforgivable red line’
North Korea had strongly criticized the maneuver. Shortly before the start of the exercises and on Tuesday, Pyongyang had already tested several missiles. North Korea then fired a Hwasong-17 ICBM on Wednesday. This is Pyongyang’s largest and most powerful projectile. It was the second ICBM test this year.
The official North Korean news agency KCNA had warned on Saturday before the latest test that the maneuvers were approaching an “unforgivable red line”.
Pyongyang sees the maneuvers as preparation for an invasion of North Korea and has repeatedly threatened “overwhelming measures”. Last year, ruler Kim Jong-un declared his internationally isolated country an “irreversible nuclear power”. Earlier this month he also instructed the military to to step up its maneuvers in preparation for a “real war”.
