North Korea launched the missiles, believed to be Rodongs, from a site south of Pyongyang at 12:14 pm local time, South Korea’s military said.
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In July, the North launched three missiles in a single day from the western region that flew across the country and into the sea off its east coast, flying about 500 km and 600 km (300-360 miles).
The submarine-launched ballistic missile test was conducted in an apparent show of force toward the annual U.S.
The launches drew immediate condemnation from the United States, which described them as “reckless”, and diplomats said the UN Security Council will discuss them behind closed doors on Tuesday at Washington’s and Tokyo’s requests.
We call on North Korea to refrain from actions and rhetoric that further raise tensions in the region and to focus instead on taking concrete steps toward fulfilling its global obligations and commitments.
Monday’s launch risks embarrassing North Korea’s main ally Beijing, which has gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure a smooth summit meeting in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.
People watch a TV news program reporting about North Korea’s missile launch, at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016.
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.
It comes just under two weeks after Pyongyang test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile.
Japanese officials condemned the launch and noted the North’s steady progress.
The stated objective of the THAAD system is to defend South Korea from missile attack from the North, but Beijing views it as an attempt to shift the regional power balance in favor of U.S. allies.
Putin’s remarks came as a surprise to many: South Korean- Russia relations have been cooled in recent months, in large part due to the THAAD deployment issue.
North Korea had no comment through its state media about its latest missile launch but it continued to strongly criticize annual military drills between South Korea and USA that wrapped up on September 2.
“This is Pyongyang’s way of reminding everyone of their existence at a moment when all parties are together, in a typically defiant, North Korean way”, John Delury, assistant professor at Yonsei University in South Korea told CNN.
“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. It called them “grave violations” of a ban on all ballistic missile activity.
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North Korea regularly engages in missile and rocket tests, especially when the world’s eyes are turned to Northeast Asia.
