Anchor: North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile(SRBM) toward the East Sea on Thursday, just eight days after its previous missile provocation. The latest missile was launched shortly after acerbic threats from the country's foreign minister in response to Seoul, Washington and Tokyo's pledge to work toward a stronger U.S. extended deterrence.
Choi You Sun reports.
Report: South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) said it detected a short-range ballistic missile(SRBM) fired by North Korea from Wonsan, Kangwon Province toward the East Sea at around 10:48 a.m. Thursday.
The JCS said the missile flew around 240 kilometers, reaching an altitude of 47 kilometers at a top speed of Mach 4. South Korea and the U.S., which had been in the midst of a missile defense exercise, put their training into full gear immediately after North Korea’s provocation.
The latest aggression follows last Wednesday's launch of an SRBM from South Pyongan Province toward the East Sea.
Less than two hours before the latest launch, the North's foreign minister Choe Son-hui warned of a "more violent" military response should the U.S. stand by a plan to strengthen its extended deterrence to regional allies.
On Sunday, the leaders of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan adopted a joint statement on the sidelines of ASEAN-led forums in Cambodia, agreeing to work toward reinforcing the U.S.’ extended deterrence and to sternly respond to the North's provocations.
Choe said Pyongyang's military actions will pose a "more serious, realistic and inevitable threat" to the U.S. and its allies and that Washington will begin to realize that it is taking a "gamble" that it would regret.
She defined the recent joint war drills by Washington and its allies as “provocative and bluffing” military activities, and a “stupid act,” and derided that they were no match to counter the North’s “overwhelming” response. The minister warned that such trilateral cooperation will only place the peninsula in a much more "unpredictable phase.”
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.