Aug 26 (Japan Times) - After a hiatus of nearly a month that was lauded by the U.S., North Korea launched three short-range ballistic missiles early Saturday, with two flying roughly 250 km and the other exploding almost immediately, the U.S. military’s Pacific Command said.
Pacific Command said the three launches occurred near Kittaeryong, in eastern Gangwon province over a period of 30 minutes. It had initially said that the first and third missiles "failed in flight."
The Japanese government also confirmed the launches, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga saying that they posed no direct threat to the security of Japan and that they did not land within Japanese territory or inside its exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan.
In Tokyo, the Defense Ministry said the launches may have been of "multiple short-range ballistic missiles or rockets."
The South's Yonhap news agency quoted the country's Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying the North had fired "several unidentified projectiles" from Gangwon province starting at around 6:49 a.m.
Later on Saturday, South Korea's presidential Blue House was quoted by Yonhap as saying the North may have fired an upgraded 300-mm caliber multiple rocket launcher, but that the military was still analyzing the details of the projectiles.
The launches came amid the ongoing joint U.S.-South Korea Ulchi Freedom Guardian war games, a largely computer-simulated exercise that runs for two weeks in the South. Pyongyang, which views the exercise as a rehearsal for invasion, threatens the annual drill with a strong military response each year.
North Korea test-fired two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July, with experts concluding that the second launch flew higher and longer than the first and now puts a large chunk of the United States --- including Chicago and Los Angeles --- within range of Pyongyang's ever-improving weapons systems.
Source: ANNnewsCH
