North Korea on Friday fired two short-range ballistic missiles towards the off its eastern coast, the South Korean military has said, according to Reuters.
The development came at a time when the South Korean military was wrapping up its 12-day annual field exercise, which this year also involved an unspecified number of American troops, reported The Associated Press.
This is the 28th missile launch by North Korea this year, according to CNN.
The two missiles were launched from North Korea’s Kangwon province between 11.59 am and 12.18 pm (3.29 pm and 3.48 pm Indian Time), the joint chiefs of staff of South Korea said. They flew about 230 kilometres and reached an altitude of 24 kilometres.
“The test was a serious act of provocation that threatens peace and stability on the peninsula and a clear violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions that ban ballistic missile launches by North Korea,” the joint chiefs of staff said.
The foreign ministry in Seoul also said that soon after the launches, its top nuclear envoy held talks with his counterparts in the United States and Japan. The three countries agreed to strengthen their coordination with North Korea while repeating their calls for Pyongyang to stop weapons tests.
The United States Indo-Pacific commands said the launches highlighted the “destabilizing impact” of North Korea’s “illicit” nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
On the other hand, Japan said it was analysing the type of missiles used and their flight information.
On October 4, North Korea had launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in five years. The launch had prompted Japanese citizens to take cover.
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