Seoul’s military said it had “detected the launch of various types of short-range ballistic missiles,“ the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The missiles flew up to about 800 kilometers before splashing down in waters to the east of the peninsula, the JCS said, adding it strongly condemned the North for a “clear act of provocation that poses a serious threat to peace and stability”.
The launch, the nuclear-armed North's first missile test since March, came about a week after Kim oversaw the test-firing of a new warship weapons system.
North Korea claims the vessel was equipped with the “most powerful weapons”, and that it would “enter into operation early next year”.
The South Korean military has said the destroyer could have been developed with Russian help -- possibly in exchange for Pyongyang deploying thousands of troops to help Moscow fight Kyiv.
North Korea launched a flurry of ballistic missiles last year in violation of UN sanctions.
The launch also came as Russia prepared to hold World War II Victory Day commemorations, with world leaders including China's Xi Jinping expected to attend -- but not Pyongyang's Kim.
The Thursday missile launch appears to “serve as a reminder of North Korea's contribution and stake in Russia’s apparent efforts to commemorate Victory Day as a triumph over Ukraine,“ Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.
Japan's defence ministry said there was no impact on Japan from the North Korean missiles, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Given the latest development, it is “entirely possible” that Thursday’s missile launch “served as a test firing prior to potential export to Russia”, North Korean studies scholar Ahn Chan-il told AFP.
Pyongyang also carried out a test-launch of strategic cruise missiles in the Yellow Sea in late February, which it said showed off “counterattack capabilities”.
Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear weapons state and routinely denounces joint US-South Korea drills as rehearsals for invasion.
With relations souring, the North last year blew up roads and railways connecting it to the South and fortified areas of the border with more mines.
In early April, South Korea's military said its troops fired warning shots when around 10 North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the heavily fortified border that divides the peninsula.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( North Korea fires flurry of short-range ballistic missiles )
Also on site :