Photo: Lee Jin-man/AP Photo/Picture Alliance / Deutsche Welle
North Korea launched during the early hours of this Sunday morning (local time ) two short-range ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan (called the East Sea in Korea), as announced by the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). the seventh launch in two weeks carried out by the North Korean regime and comes after the conclusion of naval exercises in waters around the Korean peninsula in which a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier has participated, whose presence in the area has been criticized by Pyongyang.
North Korea had previously said, according to a statement released on Saturday (08.10.2022), that its recent missile tests are a “self-defense” measure against the United States.
The test was detected by the South Korean authorities and also by the Japanese, who pointed out that it would have involved the launch of two projectiles around 1: 40 local time on Sunday, according to information from the Ministry of Defense collected by the public network NHK.
The projectiles were short-range, according to the South Korean army, which continues to analyze the details of the launch with its allies, the local Yonhap news agency reported. Both missiles may have fallen in waters outside the Japanese exclusive economic zone (EEZ), without damage to ships that could be found in the area where they fell, according to the Japanese Coast Guard.
North Korea’s missile launches have intensified since the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier and its strike group arrived in the area to participate in joint maneuvers with South Korea and Japan.