Most recently, on July 19, North Korea fired three short-range ballistic missiles off its eastern coast. Japan’s defense ministry said the missile fell into the sea inside the country’s exclusive economic zone.
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The missile firing may be part of North Korea’s response to last month’s decision by South Korea to deploy US -made THAAD anti-missile missiles.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe strongly condemned the attack, describing it as a “grave threat” and “an outrageous act that can not be tolerated”. Japan also said its self-defence force would remain on alert in case of further defiant launches from the rogue nation.
The United States, South Korea, and Japan in December 2014 signed a memorandum of understanding on sharing and safeguarding classified information on North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
The U.S. Strategic Command said it had detected two missiles, one of which it said exploded immediately after launch. South Korea referred to the launch as North Korea’s way of showing its ambition to broadly and directly attack neighboring countries and target South Korean airfields and seaports.
According to the Defense Ministry, Rodong missiles previously launched by North Korea flew from 450 kilometers to 800 kilometers.
A missile fired from North Korea landed in the sea off the Japanese coast, in a launch condemned as “outrageous” and a danger to peace in the region.
Pyongyang seems to have not yet commented on the launch, but an editorial in the state-run Rodong Sinmum newspaper yesterday warned that the South Korean army would meet a “miserable end”.
Tensions have been high on the Korean peninsula since the January nuclear test.
The latest missile tests also come as the USA and South Korea prepare to hold additional military exercises in the area this month.
North Korea says the annual drills are a provocative rehearsal for invasion, while Washington and Seoul insist they are purely defensive in nature.
The 10 Security Council members, along with Australia and South Korea, asked the committee to review details of the launch and “take appropriate action”, according to the letter sent last week.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg “strongly” condemned the latest missile test, adding that the country’s “persistent provocative behaviour” is of “deep concern and undermines worldwide security”. The U.S. military has thousands of personnel stationed in Japan.
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The council in March adopted its toughest sanctions resolution to date, banning exports of coal, iron and other minerals from North Korea and imposing other restrictions, in particular in the banking sector. The allies announced July 13 that the THAAD battery will be deployed in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, next year to better counter the North’s evolving nuclear and missile threats.
