North Korea launched unidentified ballistic missiles on Monday, South Korea’s military confirmed, marking yet another show of defiance amid heightened regional tensions.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported that the missiles were fired from the Hwanghae region at approximately 1:50 pm and travelled towards the Yellow Sea.
“Our military has strengthened surveillance and is maintaining full readiness in close cooperation with the United States,” the JCS stated, as quoted by Yonhap news agency.
The missile launch coincided with a temporary suspension of the annual Freedom Shield military drills between South Korea and the United States.
The exercises, which commenced earlier this month, were paused following an accidental bombing incident involving South Korean fighter jets during a live-fire drill. The mishap occurred last Thursday when two KF-16 aircraft mistakenly released eight MK-82 bombs outside the designated training range in Pocheon, about 40 kilometres north of Seoul, injuring 29 people, including 15 civilians.
South Korea’s Air Force Chief of Staff, General Lee Young-su, issued a formal apology over the incident.
“This is an accident that should never have happened, and one that should not recur,” he stated at a press briefing.
An interim probe by the Air Force indicated pilot error as the cause of the misfire, revealing that the pilot of the first aircraft failed to correct a wrongly entered target coordinate, despite having at least three opportunities to do so.
Meanwhile, Pyongyang strongly criticised the joint drills, condemning them as a rehearsal for invasion. North Korea issued successive statements warning that Seoul and Washington would face a “horrible” price for their “dangerous provocative act,” according to Yonhap.
This latest missile launch follows a series of North Korean weapons tests, including the firing of strategic cruise missiles in February.
The country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has repeatedly emphasised the need for heightened war preparedness, asserting that North Korea’s nuclear forces must remain ready for potential use.
The United Nations Security Council has imposed multiple sanctions on North Korea since 2006 in response to its continued development of ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programmes.
Despite these restrictions, Pyongyang has accelerated its weapons tests, further complicating diplomatic efforts in the region.
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