Pyongyang might also be targeting Japan to irritate its eastern neighbour, as Tokyo has been a harsh critic of North Korea.
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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea has fired a barrage of missiles, artillery pieces and rockets into the waters off its east coast, including a medium-range ballistic missile that fell near Japan’s territorial waters this week.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the launches a “serious threat”.
The Rodong missile, which has a maximum range of about 900 miles, could be modified to carry a nuclear warhead.
Resolution 2270 was unanimously adopted following North korea’s fourth underground nuclear test in January and a subsequent satellite launch in February, both prohibited actions under United Nations resolutions.
According to the source, North Korea is thought to have used mobile launchers, resulting in the launch preparations going undetected.
America condemned the latest missile tests.
“As the DPRK proceeds to develop new and destabilizing weapon systems, the Security Council should be prepared to respond with further significant measures”, said the letter sent to the sanctions committee on July 28.
It’s not known how North Korea monitors and tracks its missiles.
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North Korea has recently claimed a series of technical breakthroughs in its goal of developing a long-range nuclear missile capable of reaching the continental US.
U.S. Strategic Command said the two missiles were launched from a site in western North Korea at around 7:50 a.m. Seoul time (2250 GMT Tuesday).
It was one of the longest flights by a North Korean missile, and the first time a missile landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles from shore.
China said that nothing should be done to raise tensions on the Korean peninsula, but the U.S. says the missile shield is in direct response to the North Korean threat.
The UN Security Council was set to hold an emergency meeting requested by the U.S. and Japan to discuss the latest test, which UN diplomats condemned as a violation of previous Security Council resolutions.
Two ballistic missiles were fired simultaneously on Wednesday, although one of the projectiles exploded immediately after launch, the South Korean Defence Ministry said.
North Korea was thought to have launched those missiles last month to demonstrate a capability to strike South Korea, despite the South’s plan to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (Thaad) battery, in the town of Seongju by the end of next year, analysts said.
North Korea on Wednesday fired a ballistic missile into the sea off northern Japan, drawing an outraged response from Tokyo and ramping up already elevated tensions with the United States and South Korea.
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With the launch of its latest ballistic missiles this year, North Korea has dragged Japan into its ongoing tussle with South Korea and the United States over the deployment of a USA advanced anti-missile shield in the South against the North.
