A day after South Korea conducted joint air drills with the US and Japan, North Korea fired over 10 rounds of rockets into the Yellow Sea on Thursday morning from Sunan near Pyongyang in a north-westerly direction, according to South Korea’s military.
South Korea typically classifies the weapons used by North Korea’s military as short-range ballistic missiles. Under UN Security Council resolutions, North Korea is prohibited from using ballistic missiles, Reuters reported.
The missiles were launched from Pyongyang’s upgraded 240-millimeter multiple rocket launcher, which was unveiled last year and is believed to be capable of striking South Korean population centers, comprising the Seoul metropolitan area, New York Post report said.
A South Korean military official informed local media, “The projectiles, believed to be multiple launch rockets, flew tens of kilometers before falling into the Yellow Sea.” The official mentioned South Korean and US intelligence are closely monitoring details.
South Korea, the US, and Japan held their first trilateral military air exercise on Wednesday under the administration of Lee Jae Myung, who was elected earlier this month.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have escalated in recent months, after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s growing alignment with Russian President Vladimir Putin. North Korea has reportedly supplied weapons and up to 15,000 troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine. South Korean officials fear Pyongyang may receive economic assistance and advanced military technology in return, potentially boosting its weapons development programmes.
Kim has also continued to advance his nuclear and missile capabilities. This year, North Korea successfully constructed two 5,000-ton naval destroyers, with Kim describing the new warship as “convincing proof of the rapid transformation of our Navy.”