North Korea fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan on Wednesday, the U.S. Strategic Command said, adding that one exploded immediately after launch.
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– July 19: Three ballistic missiles are fired, with two of them flying between 500 to 600 kilometers (310 to 375 miles).
The recent tests, which violate UN Security Council resolutions, are believed to be the North’s way of retaliating against a U.S. decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to South Korea. The command’s statement said initial indications reveal one of the missiles exploded immediately after launch, while the second was tracked over North Korea and into the Sea of Japan.
USA and South Korean officials insist the THAAD is necessary to guard against the growing threat from North Korea.
The Japanese government said Thursday it has issued a strongly worded protest to Pyongyang over the launch. North Korea typically protests against the drills, which it says are a rehearsal for invasion.
North Korea’s military viewed the THAAD deployment as a provocation and said the United States and South Korea would “suffer from the nightmare extreme uneasiness and terror” in response.
North Korea routinely conducts missile and other weapons tests, but Wednesday’s launch came after North Korea made angry threats against a USA plan to deploy an advanced missile defense system in South Korea by the end of next year.
– March 3: Six artillery shells fly about 150 kilometers (90 miles) before landing in the North’s eastern coastal waters.
In June, North Korea, after a string of failures, sent another type of mid-range missile known as Musudan more than 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) high.
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The launch showed North Korea’s ambition to “directly and broadly attack neighbouring countries and target several places in the Republic of Korea such as ports and airfields”, the statement said, referring to South Korea by its official title. South Korean media speculate the failure involved a new intermediate-range missile, nicknamed by foreign analysts as “Musudan”, which could one day be capable of reaching far-off US military bases in Asia.
