North Korea launches at least two ballistic missiles today, its third weapons test in less than ten days, just hours after it reacted angrily to US pressure to extend international sanctions against it, which Pyongyang considered “Challenge” stating that he will proceed with a “strong” reaction.
According to the South Korean General Staff, two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) were spotted and monitored to the east, towards the sea, from North Pyongyang Province.
The Japanese navy also reported that North Korea had launched a possible ballistic missile or missiles at 14:55 (local time; 07:55 Greek time).
The two rockets appeared to have fallen into the sea outside Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the public television network NHK reported, citing a Defense Ministry official, who did not want to be named.
According to the South Korean staff, the missiles reached a distance of 430 kilometers and their maximum flight altitude was 36 kilometers.
It is unusual for Pyongyang to test its third missile this month. The two previous missiles tested were “ballistic”, according to North Korean media, ie they develop extremely high speeds and have the ability to maneuver in flight.
Unlike today, in the previous two tests only one rocket was fired from Zhanggang province.
According to Kim Dong-yap, a former Navy officer and now a university professor, the tests could well be included in “winter high schools” and at the same time used to “send a message to the United States.”
Despite international sanctions imposed on it over its banned weapons programs for acquiring nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and other advanced weapons.
The second test, which was attended by the country’s leader Kim Jong Un, led to the imposition of new US sanctions on five people linked to the North Korean ballistic missile development program.
A spokesman for the North Korean foreign ministry accused the United States of “deliberately escalating” the situation.
If Washington continues its “conflicting behavior”, Pyongyang “will have to react more strongly”, a spokesman for North Korean diplomacy said, according to the official KCNA news agency.
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