Subscribe To Print Edition About The Tribune Code Of Ethics Download App Advertise with us Classifieds
search-icon-img
  • ftr-facebook
  • ftr-instagram
  • ftr-instagram
search-icon-img
Advertisement

North Korea launches ballistic missiles toward the sea after US flies bomber during drills

Seoul, August 30 North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, hours after the US flew at least one long-range bomber to the Korean Peninsula in a show of force...
  • fb
  • twitter
  • whatsapp
  • whatsapp
Advertisement

Seoul, August 30

North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, hours after the US flew at least one long-range bomber to the Korean Peninsula in a show of force against the North.

Advertisement

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the missiles were launched late Wednesday evening from North Korea’s capital region.

It said South Korea’s military boosted its surveillance posture and maintained its readiness in close coordination with the United States.

Advertisement

Japan’s Defence Ministry also announced that North Korea fired at least one suspected ballistic missile.

Earlier Wednesday, the United States flew a B-1B bomber to the Korean Peninsula as part of field exercises with South Korea. The field training is being held on the sidelines of an ongoing annual US-South Korean computer-simulated command post exercise called “Ulchi Freedom Shield” that began August 21.

North Korea views US-South Korean military drills as an invasion rehearsal.

North Korea is sensitive to the deployment of US B-1B bombers, which are capable of carrying a large payload of conventional weapons.

Wednesday’s B-1B deployment is the 10th flyover by US bombers on the Korean Peninsula this year.

South Korea’s Defence Ministry said the bomber took part in aerial drills with other US and South Korean warplanes in waters off the Korean Peninsula’s west coast. It said the drills demonstrated the countries’ combined defence posture and the US commitment to the defence of South Korea.

North Korea’s state media said Tuesday that leader Kim Jong Un called for the military to be constantly ready for combat to thwart plans by its rivals to invade. Also Tuesday, South Korea, the US and Japan mobilised naval destroyers for a trilateral missile defence exercise off South Korea’s southern Jeju island.

Kim said in a speech marking the country’s Navy Day on Monday that the waters off the Korean Peninsula have been made unstable “with the danger of a nuclear war” because of US-led hostilities, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

Since the beginning of 2022, North Korea has carried out more than 100 weapons tests, many of them involving nuclear-capable missiles designed to strike the US, South Korea and Japan. Many experts say North Korea ultimately wants to use its increased military capabilities to wrest greater concessions from the US.

North Korea’s testing spree has caused the US and South Korea to expand their drills, resume trilateral training involving Japan, and enhance “regular visibility” of US strategic assets at the Korean Peninsula. In July, the United States deployed a nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea for the first time in four decades.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
tlbr_img1 Home tlbr_img2 Opinion tlbr_img3 Classifieds tlbr_img4 Videos tlbr_img5 E-Paper