English
English
English
North Korea fires projectile towards East Sea, Seoul says (Img: IANS)
Seoul: South Korea Military said that North Korea fired at least one unidentified projectile towards the East Sea on Sunday. This is a latest launch by Pyongyang after the recent military exercises involving US, South Korea and Japan.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) claimed it detected the launch in a message to the media but did not immediately provide further details about the projectile.
The fresh launch came after North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area towards the East Sea on September 12. The launch was seen as a protest against a trilateral military exercise involving Seoul, Washington and Tokyo, Yonhap News Agency reported.
On September 12, North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles towards the East Sea, South Korea's military said, a day after South Korea, the US and Japan concluded their trilateral military exercise.
The JCS said it detected multiple ballistic missiles launched from the Wonsan area at around 5:20 am. It added that it was analysing their exact specifications with the US side.
The missiles travelled about 250 kilometres before falling into the sea, according to the JCS.
South Korean and US intelligence authorities had been monitoring North Korea's movements from the early stages and shared relevant information with Japan, the JCS said.
"Our military is closely monitoring North Korea's various movements under a firm South Korea-US defence posture, and maintains the capabilities and readiness to overwhelmingly respond to any provocations," it added.
Sources said North Korea appeared to have fired Hwasong-11 series ballistic missiles and rounds from 600-millimetre multiple rocket launchers on several occasions in succession.
The latest launch followed the conclusion of the five-day Freedom Edge exercise by Seoul, Washington and Tokyo in international waters east and south of South Korea's southern island of Jeju on September 11.
The drills went ahead as planned despite Seoul and Washington scaling back their annual combined Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise last month following an order from US President Donald Trump.
In what was seen as a conciliatory gesture towards Pyongyang, Trump ordered a reduction in joint military drills between South Korea and the US, saying the exercises were not only "costly" but also sent a "totally inappropriate and hostile" signal to North Korea.
The South Korean military has increased surveillance to detect any additional launches and remains on "full alert", while continuing to share relevant information with the US and Japan, the JCS said.
