Pyongyang launched two short-range ballistic missiles, Seoul says
(Update 1: specifies type of missiles, adds details)
Seoul, Jan 17 (EFE).- North Korea fired two suspected short-range ballistic missiles from an airfield in the country’s capital, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JSC) said Monday.
The South Korean army detected the launch of the two projectiles from the Sunan airport in Pyongyang, located along the western stretch of the Asian country, the JCS said in a statement, local news agency Yonhap reported.
“Currently, our military is tracking and monitoring related (North Korean) movements and maintaining a readiness posture,” the JCS said.
Meanwhile, the Japanese army said that the projectiles were fired from the west of the country in an easterly direction, towards the Sea of Japan (known as the East Sea in Korea), around 8:49 am and 8:52 am on Monday and were believed to have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi told reporters that the missiles are believed to have reached a maximum altitude of around 50 kilometers (31 miles) and flown about 300 kilometers before falling into the sea.
The South Korean, US and Japanese armies are on alert and analyzing the details of Pyongyang’s fourth missile test so far this month and year, and which occurs just three days after the last test.
On Jan. 5 and Jan. 11, North Korea fired what it claimed were hypersonic missiles and on Jan. 14, it launched two guided missiles from a train hours after threatening to respond to new United States sanctions against several North Koreans citizens for their alleged links to the regime’s weapons program. EFE
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