N. Korea fires two missiles from Wonsan towards East Sea early Thursday
- 5 years ago
Just a few weeks ago, it was all handshakes and smiles when North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump met at the inter-Korean border for that historic meeting,… but the North complicated the situation on Thursday by lobbing not one, but two short-range missiles into the East Sea.
Our defense ministry correspondent Kim Ji-yeon reports.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed North Korea fired two short range missiles towards the East Sea from its eastern city of Wonsan ... at 5:34 and 5:57 AM, Korea time on Thursday.
It said the first one flew some 430 kilometers, and the second one flew some 690 kilometers... both of them reaching an altitude of between 50 and 60 kilometers.
The military said the missiles are presumed to have been launched from the ground using a transporter erector launcher... which means the missiles could be moved to be launched from a desired location... and not bound to a standard missile launch site... making it harder to predict North Korea's movements in advance.
As to whether Seoul's defense ministry views the recent launch as a violation of the inter-Korean Comprehensive Military Agreement signed by Seoul and Pyeongyang last September to alleviate military tensions in the peninsula... the spokesperson said the firing goes against the spirit of the agreement.
"Regarding North Korea's firing of projectiles presumed to be short-range missiles this morning, South Korea and the U.S. have a sharing of military information pact and the latest data is being studied in detail. The South Korean government has been monitoring the situation and urges North Korea to halt such actions, which are not helpful in lowering military tensions on the Korean peninsula."
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it's been closely watching the Wonsan area, where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has recently made public appearances.... and it's speculated Kim could have been at the site when the missiles were launched this morning.
It also said it believes summertime military drills are currently underway in the North.
Earlier this week, state-run media showed Kim inspecting a new submarine... a move believed to be aimed at trying to raise pressure to get an upper hand ahead of possible nuclear talks with Washington.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.
Our defense ministry correspondent Kim Ji-yeon reports.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed North Korea fired two short range missiles towards the East Sea from its eastern city of Wonsan ... at 5:34 and 5:57 AM, Korea time on Thursday.
It said the first one flew some 430 kilometers, and the second one flew some 690 kilometers... both of them reaching an altitude of between 50 and 60 kilometers.
The military said the missiles are presumed to have been launched from the ground using a transporter erector launcher... which means the missiles could be moved to be launched from a desired location... and not bound to a standard missile launch site... making it harder to predict North Korea's movements in advance.
As to whether Seoul's defense ministry views the recent launch as a violation of the inter-Korean Comprehensive Military Agreement signed by Seoul and Pyeongyang last September to alleviate military tensions in the peninsula... the spokesperson said the firing goes against the spirit of the agreement.
"Regarding North Korea's firing of projectiles presumed to be short-range missiles this morning, South Korea and the U.S. have a sharing of military information pact and the latest data is being studied in detail. The South Korean government has been monitoring the situation and urges North Korea to halt such actions, which are not helpful in lowering military tensions on the Korean peninsula."
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it's been closely watching the Wonsan area, where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has recently made public appearances.... and it's speculated Kim could have been at the site when the missiles were launched this morning.
It also said it believes summertime military drills are currently underway in the North.
Earlier this week, state-run media showed Kim inspecting a new submarine... a move believed to be aimed at trying to raise pressure to get an upper hand ahead of possible nuclear talks with Washington.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.