TOKYO/SEOUL (Askume) – Japanese and South Korean defense officials announced on the morning of the 18th that North Korea had launched several short-range ballistic missiles. Japan’s Defense Ministry estimates that they fell near the interior eastern coast of North Korea.
According to the Department of Defense, North Korea launched intercontinental ballistic missiles at 6:53 a.m. and 7:23 a.m. respectively. None have been confirmed to have entered Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Defence Minister Minoru Kihara told reporters the casualties had not yet been confirmed but that he had lodged a protest with North Korea through diplomatic channels.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was launched at about 6:50 a.m. from near the city of Ucheon in South Pyongan Province to the northeast, flying about 400 kilometers. It did not say how many missiles were fired or where they landed.
“We strongly condemn North Korea’s missile launch,” calling it “a clear provocation that seriously threatens the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula.”
The US Indo-Pacific Command tweeted that it was aware of the missile launch and was consulting closely with Japan and South Korea.
On the 12th of this month, it was the first time North Korea launched a ballistic missile or something that could be a ballistic missile. The next day, North Korea announced that it had tested a new 600mm multiple rocket launcher.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff believes it may have been a test of a missile supplied by Russia.
