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dpa
Seoul
North Korea has responded to a joint naval manoeuvre by the United States and South Korea with a series of missile launches.
The neighbouring country fired eight short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) from at least four different locations towards the open sea in the east within 35 minutes on Sunday morning, South Korea’s general staff said.
Seoul accused North Korea of provocation. UN resolutions prohibit the country from testing ballistic missiles, which, depending on their design, can also carry one or more nuclear warheads.
The missiles reportedly flew between 110 and 670 kilometres before falling into the Sea of Japan, also known in Korean as the East Sea.
They reached a flight altitude of 25 to 90 kilometres.
A short-range ballistic missile, or SRBM, has a range of up to 1,000 kilometres.
The South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted a military representative as saying that this is the largest number of ballistic missiles North Korea has fired in one day. Ballistic missiles are usually surface-to-surface missiles.
The latest round of missile tests by North Korea was also seen as a show of strength in South Korea.
The armed forces of the US and South Korea had ended their naval exercises in the region only a day earlier.
According to South Korean media reports, the three-day manoeuvre in international waters off Okinawa in the Philippine Sea involved the US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan as well as destroyers from the South Korean navy.
North Korea considers itself provoked by the regular manoeuvres of both countries.
This was already the 18th round of missile tests by North Korea this year. Before that, according to South Korean data, the country had last fired three ballistic missiles on May 25, one of which was apparently an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
The US and South Korea fear that North Korea could also carry out a new nuclear test at any time.
Seoul
North Korea has responded to a joint naval manoeuvre by the United States and South Korea with a series of missile launches.
The neighbouring country fired eight short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) from at least four different locations towards the open sea in the east within 35 minutes on Sunday morning, South Korea’s general staff said.
Seoul accused North Korea of provocation. UN resolutions prohibit the country from testing ballistic missiles, which, depending on their design, can also carry one or more nuclear warheads.
The missiles reportedly flew between 110 and 670 kilometres before falling into the Sea of Japan, also known in Korean as the East Sea.
They reached a flight altitude of 25 to 90 kilometres.
A short-range ballistic missile, or SRBM, has a range of up to 1,000 kilometres.
The South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted a military representative as saying that this is the largest number of ballistic missiles North Korea has fired in one day. Ballistic missiles are usually surface-to-surface missiles.
The latest round of missile tests by North Korea was also seen as a show of strength in South Korea.
The armed forces of the US and South Korea had ended their naval exercises in the region only a day earlier.
According to South Korean media reports, the three-day manoeuvre in international waters off Okinawa in the Philippine Sea involved the US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan as well as destroyers from the South Korean navy.
North Korea considers itself provoked by the regular manoeuvres of both countries.
This was already the 18th round of missile tests by North Korea this year. Before that, according to South Korean data, the country had last fired three ballistic missiles on May 25, one of which was apparently an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
The US and South Korea fear that North Korea could also carry out a new nuclear test at any time.
