North Korea fires two missiles in response to US sanctions threat
- The third firings in two weeks came hours after Pyongyang criticised a US push for new sanctions over the previous tests as a ‘provocation’
- South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North launched two short-range ballistic missiles
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had detected what it presumed were two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) launched eastward from North Pyongan province on the west coast of North Korea.
Japan’s coastguard also reported that the North fired what could be a ballistic missile.
The projectiles appeared to have landed in the sea outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, broadcaster NHK reported, citing an unnamed Japanese defence ministry official.
Seoul’s National Security Council held an emergency meeting and expressed “strong regret” over the latest missile test, the presidential Blue House said on Friday.
The launch would be the third since New Year’s Day, an unusually high pace of missile tests. The previous two were of “hypersonic missiles,” North Korean state media reported, capable of high speeds and manoeuvring after launch.