North Korea fired ten ballistic missiles towards South Korea and Japan. All fell into the sea and triggered air raid alarms in both countries.
A South Korean ballistic missile malfunctioned and slammed into the ground early Wednesday during a live-fire drill with the United States, panicking confused residents of a coastal city already uneasy over increasingly provocative weapons tests by rival North Korea.
South Korean fighter jets fire three missiles north of the maritime border in a display of force against North Korea – Yonhap agency reports.
Japan has triggered an emergency security meeting amid North Korean missile tests. Additionally, the spox for South Korea’s ruling party vows “North Korea will pay the price” for its actions and says that South Korea will not tolerate a “7th nuclear test and reckless provocations.
Today’s events can be considered as a direct attack on South Korea.” — said the spox.
The sound of the blast and subsequent fire led many in Gangneung to believe it could be a North Korean attack. This concern only grew as the military and government officials did not explain the explosion for hours.
The missile that was most comparable to South Korea anchored in waters just 57 kilometres (35 miles) east of the South Korean continent, the military added.
The military removed a statement clarifying the missile takeoff near South Korean territorial waters as “very rare and unbearable”.
“Our military pledged to respond firmly to this (provocation),” it added.
The South Korean military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff originally said it detected the launch of three short-range ballistic missiles.
But it later reported North Korea had fired “at least ten missiles of different types today towards the east and west”.
Yoon Suk-yeol called a conference of the National Security Council over the takeoffs, ordering “swift and stern measurements so that North Korea’s pushes pay a clear price.”
