South Korea’s Defense Ministry said the projectiles, fired from the eastern coastal town of Wonsan, flew about 100 to 150 kilometers (60 to 90 miles) and landed in the sea.
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He added that “now is the time for us to convert all our military countermeasure methods toward the enemies in a preemptive attack”.
North Korea’s leader has launched an unprecedented verbal assault on his counterpart in Seoul, threatening to bring about the “end” of South Korea’s president.
Still, Kim’s announcement prompted a response from the US.
A spokesman for South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles relations with the North, said Kim’s comments were not helpful and may have been intended for the domestic audience, to boost morale in the face of the new United Nations sanctions.
“We urge North Korea to refrain from provocative actions and rhetoric that aggravate tensions and instead focus on fulfilling its worldwide obligations and commitments”, Gabrielle Price, the spokeswoman for the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said.
Earlier this week, the U.N Security Council voted to impose an array of sanctions against North Korea because of that nation’s recent nuclear test and missile launch, both of which defied worldwide sanctions.
The Pentagon said it’s aware of North Korea’s change in military posture and is closely monitoring the situation along with our allies in the region.
Russian Federation – which enjoys friendly ties with the reclusive Stalinist regime – backed the tough UN measures against North Korea on Wednesday, after arduous negotiations between the United States and Pyongyang’s main backer China.
“Our response will involve the full use of various means and tools including a strong and ruthless physical response”, KCNA quoted an unnamed government spokesman as saying. China has long voiced opposition to the THAAD battery in South Korea, claiming it would undermine its own national security interests.
It was the fifth Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on the North.
The resolution also blacklisted 16 North Korean individuals and 12 entities, including the General Reconnaissance Bureau, in charge of espionage operations, and requires the expulsion of North Korean diplomats engaged in activities banned under Security Council resolutions.
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The North’s official media have previously levelled highly chauvinistic insults at Ms Park, labelling her a “devil, not a woman” and describing her as a “bat living in a cave”.
