North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles but one launch failed, South Korea’s military said Monday, a day after Pyongyang warned of “fatal consequences” following major joint exercises in the South.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military had detected two launches, the first at 5:05 am (2005 GMT) and the second around 10 minutes later.
“The short-range ballistic missile launched at around 05:05 flew approximately 600 km (372 miles),” it said, adding the second one travelled 120 km.
North Korea is accused of breaching arms control measures by supplying weapons to Russia to use in itswar in Ukraine, and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a summit with leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang in June in a show of unity.
The launch also comes after Pyongyang on Sunday denounced joint military exercises by South Korea,Japan and the United States, calling them an “Asian version of NATO” and warning of “fatal consequences”.
The three-day “Freedom Edge” drills, which ran from Thursday to Saturday last week, included preparation in ballistic missile and air defences, anti-submarine warfare and defensive cyber training.
They also involved Washington’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, Tokyo’s guided-missile destroyer JS Atago and Seoul’s KF-16 fighter jet.
Last week, North Korea claimed to have successfully tested a multiple warhead missile, but the South said that launch ended in a mid-air explosion.
Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with the North ramping up weapons testing while bombarding the South with balloons full of trash.
Pyongyang says those missives are in retaliation for balloons loaded with anti-regime propaganda leaflets sent northwards by activists in the South.
In response to the North’s repeated launches, South Korea has fully suspended a tension-reducing military treaty. It also briefly resumed propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts, and conducted live-fire drills near the border.
North Korea is also currently holding a major party meeting, which was opened by leader Kim, state media said Saturday.
“In both North Korean politics and military policy, the best defence is often a good offence,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
