South Korea and the United States conducted live-fire military drills on Wednesday, a day after North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan, Reuters reported. Seoul and Washington troops filed several missiles into the sea, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said.
South Korean and US fighter jets also carried out a bombing drill in the Yellow Sea on October 4, AFP reported.
On Tuesday, North Korea launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in five years, prompting Japanese citizens to take cover. Japan also suspended trains in the northern regions as the missile flew over the country.
North Korea has launched five missiles in 10 days, apart from the one fired over Japan.
On September 28, it test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles from its eastern coast. The launches took place a day before the United States Vice President Kamala Harris’ scheduled visit to the South Korean capital of Seoul.
North Korea fired the two ballistic missiles on October 1 after South Korea and the United States carried out a military drill in waters off the former country’s east coast. On September 25, Pyongyang fired another ballistic missile toward the sea from its east coast.
Meanwhile, six countries, including the US, the United Kingdom and Ireland, have called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to discuss North Korea’s latest launch, Al Jazeera reported. However, Russia and China were opposed to an open discussion of the issue in the 15-member body, Reuters reported.
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