This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission.
North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Thursday, the South Korean military said, hours after the North sent a batch of balloons suspected to be bearing trash toward the South.
“The North Korean missiles flew about 360 kilometers [223 miles] and landed in the East Sea,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or JCS said, adding that it detected the “provocative” missile launches from the Pyongyang area at 7:10 a.m.
That range would mean they could reach major South Korean cities, including the capital, Seoul.
“While closely monitoring North Korea’s various activities under a firm combined defense posture between South Korea and the United States, we will maintain overwhelming capabilities and posture to respond to any provocation,” the JCS said.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said the projectiles fell in waters outside its exclusive economic zone and there was no damage to any Japanese ships.
The United States condemned the North’s launch, reaffirming its “ironclad” security commitment to South Korea.
“The United States condemns the DPRK’s … ballistic missile launch,” a State Department spokesperson said, referring to North Korea by the initials of its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“These launches, like all the DPRK’s other ballistic missile launches in recent years, violate multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions. They pose a threat to regional and international peace and security, and undermine the global nonproliferation regime,” the official added.
North Korea said last week that the South and the U.S. would have to pay a “dear price” for what it called “provocative war” drills after the two allies conducted their joint summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise.
South Korea and the U.S. say the drills are defensive and they have been expanding and upgrading their training in recent years to cope with the North’s evolving threats. North Korea has long denounced the military drills as rehearsals by the United States and South Korea to invade it.
The missile launches came hours after North Korea sent another batch of balloons suspected of carrying trash toward the South.
About 20 balloons were floated late on Wednesday but they failed to cross the Military Demarcation Line, between the two Koreas, said the JCS, adding that no balloons were in the air as of Thursday morning.
North Korea has sent thousands of balloons carrying trash into the South since late May in retaliation for activists in South Korea floating anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets across the border into the North.
In response to the North’s balloons, South Korea resumed a loudspeaker campaign, blaring propaganda messages over the border including criticism of the state of human rights, news and K-pop songs, to the fury of North Korea.
