Seoul, Mar. 18, (dpa/GNA) – North Korea has fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the South Korean military said on Monday.
North Korea launched at least three missiles from the Pyongyang area around 8 am on Monday (2300 GMT Sunday), South Korean news agency Yonhap cited the general staff in Seoul (JCS) as saying. This was Pyongyang’s second launch of ballistic missiles so far this year.
The missiles flew some 300 kilometres before landing in the sea, the JCS said.
The Japanese Defence Ministry said that the missiles travelled some 350 kilometres at a maximum altitude of about 50 kilometres, news agency Kyodo reported.
North Korea is prohibited by UN resolutions from launching or even testing ballistic missiles of any range. These are usually surface-to-surface missiles that can also be equipped with a nuclear warhead.
“Japan strongly condemns the latest ballistic missile launches, which violate relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions,” Kyodo quoted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as saying at a parliamentary session.
“North Korea’s series of actions threaten the peace and security of our country, our region, and the international community and they are totally unacceptable,” Kishida said.
The missiles were launched as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Seoul to attend the Summit for Democracy conference.
US and South Korean troops have recently concluded an annual training exercise, codenamed Freedom Shield.
Pyongyang regularly accuses Washington and Seoul of preparing for an attack with their military exercises, which both countries deny.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have again risen in recent months.