Monday’s launch comes two weeks after the rogue regime fired a submarine-based missile off the country’s eastern coast near the city of Sinpo.
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North Korea test-launched three ballistic missiles in the waters of the Sea of Japan (known in Korea as the East Sea) on Monday, South Korea’s Joint Chief of Staff reported.
China says the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system is meant to spy on China, while Seoul and Washington say the system is intended exclusively to defend against North Korea’s missile threat.
At least one of the missiles flew some 1,000 km and hit Japan’s air defence identification systems.
The JCS was quoted as saying that the missiles were launched into the East Sea at about 12:14 p.m. local time from its western area of Hwangju in North Hwanghae province.
The missile launches were the latest in a series of launches by the isolated North this year in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
They came hours after the leaders of South Korea and China, the North’s main diplomatic ally, met on the sidelines of a world leaders’ meeting in Hangzhou, China.
Xi reaffirmed China’s commitment to realizing denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, safeguarding peace and stability of the peninsula, and solving relevant issues through dialogue and consultation.
North Korea has also spoken out against its deployment, threatening to nuke its neighbor and the United States base in Guam, in protest at the South’s decision to deploy THAAD anti-missile systems.
He also told Park that China opposes the deployment of the THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea.
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Earlier this month the rogue regime simultaneously launched two “No Dong” intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
