TOKYO – North Korea on Sunday launched ballistic missiles, with the projectiles estimated to have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, the Japanese government said, following several short-range ballistic missiles that were fired earlier this month.
According to the government, no damage has been reported in the country following the latest missile firings. The South Korean military said short-range ballistic missiles were fired at around 6:10 a.m. from the Sinpo area toward the east and flew about 140 kilometers.
The military is considering the possibility that the projectiles were submarine-launched ballistic missiles, Yonhap News Agency said, adding there is a submarine base in Sinpo. An SLBM was fired in waters off Sinpo in May 2022, Yonhap reported.
The launches come as Pyongyang has been bolstering its nuclear capabilities. On Wednesday, Rafael Grossi, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that the agency had confirmed a “very serious increase” in North Korea’s nuclear weapons production capabilities. He also mentioned the addition of a facility likely to be a new uranium enrichment plant.
Also, earlier this month, the North said it had tested a tactical ballistic missile armed with a cluster-bomb warhead capable of “reducing to ashes any target covering an area of 6.5-7 hectares,” according to state media.
Tokyo lodged a stern protest with Pyongyang over the latest launches, calling them a threat to the peace and security of Japan, the region and international community and a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Speaking to reporters during his trip to Australia, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said, “Japan will work closely with the United States and South Korea and remain fully prepared for any contingencies.”
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi instructed relevant government agencies to make every effort to gather information and ensure the safety of vessels and aircraft.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to uphold the country’s status as a nuclear weapons state, emphasizing the importance of its “defensive nuclear deterrence” to national security and economic development.
AloJapan.com