North Korea has launched two new ballistic missiles. This prompted the US military to consult closely with allies and partners.
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According to the Reuters news agency, the missiles were headed for waters east of the South Korean coast. They flew 350 kilometers, with an altitude of 90 kilometers.
The launches are said to have taken place shortly after the United States and South Korea concluded a joint military exercise. The US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan has once again been deployed to practice with South Korea, which provokes its neighbor to the north. They see the exercises as “invasion preparations,” AP writes.
This was the seventh round of missile tests North Korea carried out in two weeks, and according to Reuters it should have raised the alarm in both Washington and Tokyo.
International leaders are now seeing signs of further escalation, such as a potential nuclear test, CNN writes. If so, it will be the first nation in nearly five years.
Both missiles fell out of Japan’s economic zone. Authorities subsequently investigated the type of missiles launched, including the possibility that they may have been launched from a submarine.
If North Korea has become capable of launching missiles from a submarine, it could mean an alarming escalation, writes AP. This is because it is more difficult to detect such launches in advance.
The US military consulted closely with allies and partners after the launches, which they say adds to the “destabilizing effect” associated with North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
The US assessment is, however, that the launches in recent weeks pose no threat to US personnel or US allies, according to Reuters.
From night to Tuesday they became Japanese residents asked to seek shelter in shelters, when a North Korean missile triggered the air defense alarm. It is said to have flown over and over Japanese territory and landed in the Pacific Ocean.
During a press conference, the Japanese authorities called the act “barbaric”.
Japan’s Deputy Defense Minister Toshiro Ino said the frequency of testing from North Korea is unlike anything else they have experienced. Ino said Tokyo will not tolerate repeated actions.
