N. Korea fires multiple short-range projectiles off eastern coast
- 5 years ago
We start with some breaking news... of North Korea firing multiple short-range projectiles out toward the east coast.
The biggest question is on North Korea's motive,... and how this will impact the nuclear talks with South Korea and the U.S.
We have our Seoul's defense ministry correspondent Kim Ji-yeon on the line for more details.
Ji-yeon, give us the latest.
Sure.
South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff confirmed this morning... that North Korea fired multiple short-range projectiles from its eastern coast... near the port city of Wonsan, Gangwon-do Province in the space of around 20 minutes... between 9:06 AM and 9:27 AM local time today.
It was first reported to have been missiles,... but the South Korea military corrected that they're projectiles... pending further identification.
It tells us the projectiles flew between 70 and 200 kilometers... in a northeasterly direction.
It says it's currently working with the U.S. to verify what projectiles were launched,... but local experts have said,... looking at the trajectory,... it may be a KN-02 short-range ballistic missile or a KN-06 surface-to-air guided missile.
It could very well have been a mixture... of one or more of these types of weapons,... but we'll have to wait and see what Seoul's defense ministry can tell us on that.
The South Korean military also says it's closely working with the U.S.,... maintaining a strong joint military readiness posture.
The last time North Korea test-fired a missile was in November of 2017... when inter-Korean tensions were high... and U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un were locked in a heated verbal exchange.'
The last time North Korea fired a projectile was 17 days ago,... when it tested a new tactical guided weapon on April 17.
Questions will be raised on the motives behind North Korea's test-firing,... whether it's to send the U.S. and South Korea a message,... and if it's a show of frustration over the slow progress in negotiations over sanctions relief.
Recently, they've heavily criticized South Korea for conducting joint military exercises with the U.S.,... although they've been scaled down compared to previous years.
South Korea's presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae says it's closely following the situation... but has no plans to hold a National Security Council meeting... over the projectile launch.
Other possible reasons for the test-launch could be for propaganda purposes... as Kim Jong-un came back empty-handed from its summit with President Trump in Hanoi.
Foreign media outlets have also been quick... in their breaking coverage of the missile launch... including CNN which reported that U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton has briefed President Trump on the matter.
We'll have to wait and see if the move will be a game-changer in the denuclearization talks between Pyeongyang and Washington... which have been deadlocked since the Hanoi summit.
Back to you Mok-yeon.
Thank you Ji-yeon for that report.
The biggest question is on North Korea's motive,... and how this will impact the nuclear talks with South Korea and the U.S.
We have our Seoul's defense ministry correspondent Kim Ji-yeon on the line for more details.
Ji-yeon, give us the latest.
Sure.
South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff confirmed this morning... that North Korea fired multiple short-range projectiles from its eastern coast... near the port city of Wonsan, Gangwon-do Province in the space of around 20 minutes... between 9:06 AM and 9:27 AM local time today.
It was first reported to have been missiles,... but the South Korea military corrected that they're projectiles... pending further identification.
It tells us the projectiles flew between 70 and 200 kilometers... in a northeasterly direction.
It says it's currently working with the U.S. to verify what projectiles were launched,... but local experts have said,... looking at the trajectory,... it may be a KN-02 short-range ballistic missile or a KN-06 surface-to-air guided missile.
It could very well have been a mixture... of one or more of these types of weapons,... but we'll have to wait and see what Seoul's defense ministry can tell us on that.
The South Korean military also says it's closely working with the U.S.,... maintaining a strong joint military readiness posture.
The last time North Korea test-fired a missile was in November of 2017... when inter-Korean tensions were high... and U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un were locked in a heated verbal exchange.'
The last time North Korea fired a projectile was 17 days ago,... when it tested a new tactical guided weapon on April 17.
Questions will be raised on the motives behind North Korea's test-firing,... whether it's to send the U.S. and South Korea a message,... and if it's a show of frustration over the slow progress in negotiations over sanctions relief.
Recently, they've heavily criticized South Korea for conducting joint military exercises with the U.S.,... although they've been scaled down compared to previous years.
South Korea's presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae says it's closely following the situation... but has no plans to hold a National Security Council meeting... over the projectile launch.
Other possible reasons for the test-launch could be for propaganda purposes... as Kim Jong-un came back empty-handed from its summit with President Trump in Hanoi.
Foreign media outlets have also been quick... in their breaking coverage of the missile launch... including CNN which reported that U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton has briefed President Trump on the matter.
We'll have to wait and see if the move will be a game-changer in the denuclearization talks between Pyeongyang and Washington... which have been deadlocked since the Hanoi summit.
Back to you Mok-yeon.
Thank you Ji-yeon for that report.