According to officials, the most recent missile launch by North Korea in recent days was the launch of two ballistic missiles into the waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula.
According to a statement, the Defense Ministry of Japan estimated that both missiles were launched around 7:00 a.m. local time on Monday and entered the Sea of Japan “to the east of the Korean Peninsula, outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.”
A “super-large multiple rocket launcher exercise, which is a means of tactical nuclear attack” was used by North Korea to describe the incident. The nation claimed that the exercise was a response to the United States and South Korean joint air forces.
Following North Korea’s Friday threat of “unprecedented strong responses” in the event of military exercises, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense reports that both nations conducted joint air training on Sunday.
US Aviation based armed forces B-1B key aircraft were sent on the Korean Landmass with an escort help from F-35As, F-15Ks, and F-16s from the South Korean and U.S. Flying corps, South Korea’s Service of Public Guard said.
“Through timely and immediate deployment of the US extended deterrence force on the Korean Peninsula, the two demonstrated the SK-US combined defense capability and posture by the alliance’s overwhelming force and improved combined operational capability,” the Ministry’s statement said.
The South Korean Defense Ministry announced on Friday that nuclear tabletop drills are also anticipated to be held this week at the Pentagon by Washington and Seoul. The allies intend to hold additional military exercises on the Korean Peninsula next month.
According to the launch report from the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the Korean People’s Army (KPA) used two 600 mm radial guns and fired multiple projectiles. Multi-rocket launchers larger than 600 mm are considered ballistic missiles by South Korea.
Japan’s Protection Service recorded that the primary rocket was sent off at around 6:59am neighborhood time and flew around 400 km (248 miles) at a greatest height of around 100 km (62 miles). At a maximum altitude of approximately 50 kilometers (31 miles), the second missile was launched around 7:10 a.m. local time.
In a previous statement on their official website, the Japanese Coast Guard stated that North Korea had launched three suspected ballistic missiles. However, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea stated that only two short-range ballistic missiles had been detected.
Monday morning local time, Japan’s coast guard issued an alert to vessels advising them to “keep an eye out for further information.” Additionally, the agency instructed ships to avoid falling objects and report any sightings to the coast guard.
On Monday, around the time of the alleged missile launch, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and one of the country’s top officials, Kim Yo Jong, issued a statement.
In the statement that was made public on KCNA, Kim stated that North Korea has “satisfactory technology and capabilities” for missile reentry and now all that remains is “to focus on increasing the number of forces.”
Kim stated, “It would be better to think more deeply about countermeasures to defend yourself rather than doubting or worrying about the technologies of other people.”
She added, “corresponding measures,” and added, “the frequency of using the Pacific Ocean as our shooting range depends on the nature of the US military’s actions” if it deemed the presence of US forces in the region to be a threat.
North Korea acknowledged a test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Saturday, its third known test of the long-range weapon in less than a year, a day prior to the incident.