North Korea fired three ballistic missiles on Monday, believed to have flown about 1,000 kilometers and fallen in Japan’s exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan, during the two-day Group of 20 summit in China.
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“We are fully prepared to fight tonight in case North Korea makes any provocative moves”, the official was quoted as warning by Yonhap News Agency – with the Koreas locked in an uneasy stalemate having never reached a peace treaty after the 1950-53 Korean War. South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the summit just hours before the missile launches.
Xi also told Park that Beijing opposed the proposed deployment of a THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea, which Seoul and the United States have said is created to counter an increasing missile threat from North Korea. Park told Xi that China’s close ties to North Korea could disrupt its relationship with South Korea. In August, a missile from a North Korean submarine flew about 310 miles – the longest distance the North has achieved yet with such a weapon. Beijing is the North’s only major ally, but ties between the neighbors have frayed amid a string of nuclear and missile tests and what many outsiders see as other provocations in recent years. A USA official condemned the move as “reckless”, while South Korea’s Foreign Ministry described it as a “grave provocation” and “flagrant violation” of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said they fell off the northwestern coast of Hokkaido.
The U.S. and South Korea were still investigating, but the launches were clearly a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning the North’s use of ballistic missile technology, the statement said. President Barack Obama was in China meeting with the leaders of France and Germany around the time of the launch, according to The Associated Press. But they point to a mid-range ballistic missile test in June as evidence of a steadily advancing ability to reach United States forces stationed in the region.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was in Hangzhou, said the “unprecedented” missile launches were a serious threat to security while Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida disclosed that Tokyo had lodged a stern protest through diplomatic channels in Beijing, and that there were plans to seek an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
Another test was a submarine-launched ballistic missile last month.
South Korea’s military also has been on alert for action by North Korea ahead of the 68th anniversary of its government’s establishment on Friday.
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Xi also expressed his concern over the THAAD system, saying that “mishandling the issue is not conducive to strategic stability in the region, and could intensify conflicts”, Xinhua reported.
