North Korea test fires 2 ballistic missiles in fresh challenge to US

Name: North Korea claims to test nuclear-capable underwater attack drone
Uploaded: 2023-03-26T23:53:41.000Z
Duration: 3 min 25 s
Description: North Korea claims to test nuclear-capable underwater attack drone

North Korea has fired more than 20 missiles across 11 launch events this year as it tries to force the United States to accept its nuclear status

Monday’s launches were the North’s seventh missile event this month as it steps up demonstrations in response to US-South Korea military exercises

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A woman walks past a television showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test at a railway station in Seoul on Monday. Photo: AFP

Associated Press

Published: 7:53am, 27 Mar 2023Updated: 2:11pm, 27 Mar 2023

A nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier and its battle group began exercises with South Korean warships on Monday, hours after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles in an apparent protest of the allies’ expanding drills.

The seventh missile test this month underscored heightening tensions in the region as both the North’s weapons tests and the US-South Korea joint military exercises have intensified in a cycle of tit-for-tat.

The launches may have been timed for the arrival of the USS Nimitz and its strike group, including a guided missile cruiser and two destroyers, which escorted the carrier and engaged in air defence exercises with South Korean warships in waters near Jeju island.

Jang Do-young, a South Korean navy spokesman, said the drills were aimed at sharpening joint operational capabilities and demonstrating the US commitment to defend its ally with the full range of options, including nuclear, in the face of the North’s “escalating nuclear and missile threats”. The Nimitz strike group was expected to arrive in the South Korean mainland port of Busan on Tuesday.

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North Korea claims to test nuclear-capable underwater attack drone

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the two North Korean missiles were fired from a western inland area south of the North Korean capital of Pyongyang from around 7:47am to 8am and travelled around 370km (229 miles) before landing in the sea. Japan’s military said the missiles flew on an irregular trajectory and reached a maximum altitude of 50km (31 miles) before landing outside the country’s exclusive economic zone.