North Korea appears to be firing missiles again

North Korea appears to be firing missiles again

Tensions on the Korean peninsula appear to be ongoing. According to Seoul, Pyongyang fired another short-range missile. In addition, North Korean fighter jets are said to have dared to approach the country’s borders – then South Korean planes are said to have climbed into the air.

North Korea has fired another missile after its latest series of missile tests, according to the South Korean military. The short-range missile was fired in the direction of the Sea of ​​Japan (Korean: East Sea) on Friday (local time), the Yonhap Agency reported, citing the South Korean General Staff. Accordingly, the ballistic missile started in the night near the North Korean capital Pyongyang.

There was also an incident involving fighter jets on Thursday: the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, citing the General Staff in South Korea, that ten North Korean fighter jets had been spotted 25 kilometers north of the inner-Korean border. In response, South Korean fighter jets took off.

Pyongyang “took strong military countermeasures” after provocation

North Korea, on the other hand, has accused its neighbor of “provocative behavior” near the shared border. The North Korean People’s Army is sending a “strict warning” to the South Korean military, the North Korean news agency KCNA reported. Seoul is fueling “military tensions” in the border area with “reckless actions”. According to KCNA, a North Korean army spokesman said the South Korean army fired artillery “for about ten hours” on Thursday. In response to the “provocative behavior,” Pyongyang “took strong military countermeasures.”

North Korea has been conducting an unusually large number of missile tests since September

On Wednesday, ruler Kim Jong Un witnessed the launch of two long-range cruise missiles, the state news agency KCNA reported on Thursday. These took off from the western province of South Pyongan in the direction of the Yellow Sea and, after a flight duration of 10,234 seconds, hit their targets 2,000 kilometers away.

According to KCNA, the government had previously justified its missile tests in response to recent sea maneuvers by the South Korean and US armed forces, which included the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan for the first time in four years. Despite international criticism, the North Korean military has carried out rocket tests at an unusually high frequency since the end of September. According to the government itself, this should also simulate the shelling of South Korean airfields with tactical nuclear weapons.

At the beginning of the month, Pyongyang also launched a medium-range missile over the Japanese archipelago for the first time in five years. The last time North Korea launched a missile over Japan in 2017, the country conducted a nuclear weapons test just days later.

Source: Stern

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