The latest launch marks the North’s 14th show of force this year. It came after the North test-fired what it claimed to be a tactical guided weapon on April 16….reports Asian Lite News
North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, in the recalcitrant regime’s latest saber-rattling that comes less than a week before President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s inauguration.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at 12:03 p.m. Other details were not immediately available, Yonhap news agency reported.
“Our military is tracking and monitoring related movements and maintaining a readiness posture,” the JCS added in a text message sent to reporters.
The latest launch marks the North’s 14th show of force this year. It came after the North test-fired what it claimed to be a tactical guided weapon on April 16.
Concerns have persisted that the North could continue to carry out provocations, such as another intercontinental ballistic missile or a nuclear test.
Meanwhile, top South Korean and Japanese nuclear envoys denounced North Korea’s latest missile test and urged for the reclusive regime to return to the dialogue table, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said.
Noh Kyu-duk, Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, met his Japanese counterpart Takehiro Funakoshi in Seoul, as North Korea staged its 14th known show of force this year around at Tuesday afternoon.
They pointed out the launch is a clear violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions and poses a “serious threat” not only to the Korean Peninsula but also to the international community, Yonhap news agency reported.
“They urged North Korea to immediately cease further destabilising acts and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy,” the Ministry said.
Meanwhile, the transition team of South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol strongly condemned North Korea’s ballistic missile launch on Wednesday, saying the incoming government will deal sternly with any provocations.
“The transition team strongly condemns North Korea’s provocation and again urges an immediate halt to actions creating tension and threatening international peace,” the Committee said in a statement.
“The Yoon Suk-yeol government will deal strongly with North Korea’s provocations by working with the international community on the basis of thorough cooperation between South Korea and the United States,” it said, promising “more fundamental deterrence measures” to counter the North’s nuclear and missile threats.
