North Korea escalates tensions with second short-range missile launch

• South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported the missiles traveled northeast for about 400 km.
• Japan’s coast guard reported another missile fired by North Korea.
• South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol urged Pyongyang to cease all provocations.

On Wednesday, North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward its east coast, according to South Korea and Japan. This missile launch followed Pyongyang’s recent unveiling of a uranium enrichment facility and its pledge to strengthen its nuclear arsenal.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported that North Korea launched missiles from Kaechon, north of the capital Pyongyang, at around 6:50 a.m. (2150 GMT Tuesday). The missiles traveled northeast for about 400 km (249 miles). The JCS did not specify the number of missiles fired or their landing locations.

“We strongly condemn North Korea’s missile launch as a clear provocation that seriously threatens the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula,” the JCS said in a statement, vowing an overwhelming response to any further provocations.

Approximately 30 minutes after the initial missile launch, Japan’s coast guard reported that North Korea had fired another ballistic missile. Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara stated that at least one missile landed near North Korea’s eastern inland coast and condemned the launches, asserting that they “cannot be tolerated.”

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office convened a meeting to evaluate the security situation and urged Pyongyang to cease all provocations, including the ongoing release of balloons carrying trash into the South.

Nuclear envoys from South Korea, Japan, and the United States condemned the launch as a violation of UN resolutions during a phone call, pledging a stern response to any further provocations, according to a statement from Seoul’s foreign ministry. The US Indo-Pacific Command stated on X that it was aware of the launches and was consulting closely with Seoul and Tokyo.

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