Ahead of US Vice President Kamala Harris' Seoul visit, North Korea fires two missiles

Seoul, September 28

Kim Jong-un-led North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on Wednesday, its neighbours said, a day before US Vice President Kamala Harris is to visit South Korea. Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the North Korean missiles lifted off 10 minutes apart on Wednesday afternoon from its capital region and flew toward the waters off its east coast.

Japanese Vice Defence Minister Toshiro Ino said Japan's military also detected the launches and that the weapons flew in an irregular trajectory. Ino said, “North Korea's repeated missile firings amid (Russia's) invasion of Ukraine is impermissible.”

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea's provocations would only deepen its international isolation while pushing South Korea and the United States to strengthen their deterrence.

The launches follow a missile test by North Korea earlier this week.

Harris is to arrive in South Korea on Thursday for talks with President Yoon Suk Yeol and other officials.

She also is to visit the tense border with North Korea, in what US officials call an attempt to underscore the strength of the US-South Korean alliance and the US commitment to “stand beside” South Korea in the face of any North Korea threats.

US and South Korean navy ships were also conducting drills off South Korea's east coast in a show of force against North Korea.

The four-day exercise, which began Monday, involves the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. It is the first training exercise by the allies involving a U.S. aircraft carrier near the Korean Peninsula since 2017. — Agencies

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