South Korea, Japan condemn ‘provocations’ after North Korea fires three missiles, including a suspected ICBM, off its east coast.
Seoul, South Korea – North Korea has test fired three missiles off its east coast, including a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), according to the governments of South Korea and Japan.
The tests on Wednesday came hours after Joe Biden, the president of the United States, left the region after a five-day tour during which he pledged to defend Seoul and Tokyo in the face of Pyongyang’s growing nuclear and missile arsenal.
South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-Yeol, who convened a meeting of the National Security Council, condemned North Korea’s weapons tests as a “serious provocation threatening international peace”.
He also ordered the “implementation of practical measures for the activation of extended deterrence and strengthening of the South Korea- US combined defence posture,” according to a statement from his office.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the first missile was launched from the Sunan area in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, at 6am local time (21:00 GMT) on Wednesday .
The second was launched 37 minutes later and the third five minutes after that.
The first of the three projectiles was a suspected ICBM and flew about 360 kilometers (223.7 miles) with a maximum altitude of 540 kilometers (335.5 miles), the military said.
The second appears to have failed after reaching an altitude of 20 kilometers (12.4 miles), while the third – a suspected short range ballistic missile – flew about 760 kilometers (472 miles) with a maximum altitude of 60 kilometers (37 miles), it added.
In Tokyo, Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi denounced the weapons launches as “clear provocations” and told reporters that Japan will not tolerate North Korea’s attempts to advance its missile technology.
Wednesday’s tests were the latest in a flurry of weapons launches from North Korea this year. They came after officials in the US and South Korea warned that Pyongyang was likely to test a nuclear weapon or a long range missile soon, perhaps even during Biden’s Asia tour.
The US president left Tokyo on Tuesday night but had been briefed on the latest launches, the Reuters news agency said.
The US military command in the region said it was aware of “multiple” ballistic missile launches from North Korea and was assessing the situation.
“The missile launches highlights the destabilizing impact of the DPRK’s illicit weapons program,” it said in a statement, referring to North Korea by its official name.
Zaheena Rasheed wrote and reported from Seoul, South Korea, while Kate Mayberry reported from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
