North Korea fired several land-to-ship missiles off its east coast on Thursday, less than a week after the UN Security Council added to sanctions on the reclusive state for its nuclear and missile program.
“North Korea launched multiple projectiles that appear to be short-range land-to-ship cruise missiles today morning off east coast from the region of Wonsan,” South Korea’s Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has been briefed on the latest launch of missiles, which flew about 200 km (124 miles), the military said, adding that Seoul and Washington were analysing the launches for further information.
This is the fourth missile test by North Korea since Moon took office on May 10 pledging to engage in dialogue with Pyongyang. He has said sanctions and pressure alone have failed to deter the North in its nuclear and missile development.
The anti-ship missile tests come as the US Navy adds to its presence in waters in the region.
The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz recently sailed from San Diego for the Pacific, according to a US Navy statement. The aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and USS Ronald Reagan are already in the region.
The Nimitz will sail with the guided-missile destroyers USS Kidd and USS Shoup from their designated carrier strike group, as well as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Howard and USS Pinckney, and the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Princeton, according to the statement.
A report by Business Insider estimated that the US has three aircraft carriers, two cruisers, and 12 destroyers simultaneously operating in the Pacific, with Japanese and South Korean navy ships nearby.
Under third-generation leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea has been conducting missile tests at an unprecedented pace to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of hitting the mainland United States.
The isolated country, which has conducted dozens of missile tests and tested two nuclear bombs since the beginning of 2016 in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions, says the program is necessary to counter US aggression.
In three earlier launches, it tested different kinds of ballistic missiles, two medium-to-long range missiles as well as a short-range Scud class weapon.
I love N. Korea. May God bless Kim and brave N.Korean people.
way to go North Korea, U need these missiles to keep your country safe from ravaging savages.
Pyongang may be safer than many global cities,it will be poor but it is a fair trade off compared to savage capitalism destroying everything
So go and live there and see how you like it dummy.
I will send you an ambulance
Good going N.Korea.That’s what the world should be.There should be balance of power.It’s better to protect yourself.I think this time around try to make a heavy nuclear bomb
The Americans invaded Korea in 1950, massacred millions of Koreans and are still occupying part of Korea with 30,000 soldiers. Though the Americans are the aggressors, the invaders and the murderers, they, the Americans, call the Koreans who are defending their country, aggressors, while they portray themselves as the pacifiers. And they, the Americans, have the guts to ask the United Nations to impose sanctions on the Koreans because the Koreans develop and test weapons to defend themselves against the American invaders and murderers.
Developing the means to defend oneself against attacks is one of the most basic right of a human being. It is therefore a shame and a blatant abuse of one of the most basic human right that the United Nations imposes sanctions on the Koreans when the Koreans develop and test weapons to defend themselves against the American invaders and murderers.
The only solution to eliminate tension and the threat of war in Korea is for the Americans to remove all its soldiers and military gear out of Korea. Americans soldiers are sitting in a foreign country. This is not a place for them to be sitting. They must go back to their country and not invading a foreign country. The United Nations must therefore vote a resolution requesting the USA to remove all its soldiers out of Korea.
Michael Chan
You are right, superb said