SEOUL: North Korea fired two ballistic missiles as it justified its recent blitz of sanctions-busting tests as necessary countermeasures against joint military drills by the United States and South Korea.
As the United Nations Security Council met to discuss Pyongyang’s Tuesday launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan, North Korea blamed Washington for “escalating the military tensions on the Korean peninsula”.
The recent launches – six in less than two weeks, including likely its longest-ever test by distance – were “the just counteraction measures of the Korean People’s Army on South Korea-US joint drills,” Pyongyang’s foreign ministry said yesterday.
Early yesterday, South Korea’s military said it had detected two short-range ballistic missiles launched from the Samsok area in Pyongyang towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.
“Our military has reinforced monitoring and surveillance and is maintaining utmost readiness in coordination with the United States,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Pyongyang’s Tuesday firing of what officials and analysts said was a Hwasong-12 that travelled likely the longest horizontal distance of any North Korean test, prompted the United States to call for the emergency Security Council meeting.
At the meeting, North Korea’s long-time ally and economic benefactor Beijing also blamed Washington for provoking the spate of launches by Kim Jong Un’s regime.
Deputy Chinese ambassador to the UN Geng Shuang said North Korea’s recent launches were “closely related” to military exercises in the region conducted by the United States and its allies.
Geng accused the US of “poisoning the regional security environment”.
Seoul, Tokyo and Washington have ramped up joint military drills in recent weeks, including large-scale naval manoeuvres and anti-submarine exercises.
The United States said on Wednesday it would redeploy the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan to the Korean Peninsula for a second visit in less than a month. — AFP
