North Korea fires at least three short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea says

 According to CNN,

North Korea fires at least three short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea says

Seoul, South KoreaCNN — 

North Korea fired at least three short-range ballistic missiles from a site south of Pyongyang on Saturday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the latest in an unprecedented year of weapons testing.

In a text to reporters, the Joint Chiefs said the projectiles were fired from the Chunghwa area of North Hwanghae province at around 8 a.m. local time Saturday.

Japan’s Defense Ministry said three ballistic missiles – each with a maximum altitude of approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) and a flight distance of roughly 350 kilometers (217 miles) – had fallen into waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

This is the 37th day this year that North Korea has conducted a missile launch, according to CNN’s count.

Last week, it fired two short-range ballistic missiles, according to South Korean officials.

In 2020, North Korea conducted four missile tests. In 2021, it doubled that number. In 2022, the isolated nation has fired more missiles than any other year on record, at one point launching 23 missiles in a single day.

North Korea has fired more than 90 cruise and ballistic missiles so far this year, showing off a range of weapons as experts warn of a potential nuclear test on the horizon.

Though the tests themselves aren’t new, their sheer frequency marks a significant escalation that has put the Pacific region on edge.

North Korea fires three ballistic missiles in latest tests:

Launches come five days after country reportedly flew drones into South Korea’s airspace

North Korea fired three ballistic missiles towards the sea east of the Korean Peninsula on Saturday, the South Korean military said.

The launches were the latest in an unprecedented number of missile tests conducted by North Korea this year, as Pyongyang presses on with weapons development amid speculation it could test a nuclear weapon for a seventh time.

The three short-range ballistic missiles were fired around 8am local time from North Hwanghae province, south of the capital, Pyongyang, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said.

All three flew at an altitude of around 100km (62 miles) and covered a range of around 350km (217 miles), Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported, citing the defence ministry in Tokyo.

The US Indo-Pacific command said it was aware of the missile launches and was “consulting closely with our allies and partners”.

The launches came a day after South Korea’s defence ministry announced it had successfully conducted a test flight of a solid-propellant space launch vehicle.

The latest missile tests follow reports by South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff (JCS) of two ballistic missiles fired from the Tongchang-ri area in North Pyongan province on 18 December. “Our military has strengthened surveillance and vigilance while closely cooperating with the United States and maintaining a full readiness posture,” the JCS said in a statement at the time.

On Monday, five North Korean drones crossed into South Korea, prompting the South’s military to scramble fighter jets and attack helicopters to try to shoot them down, in the first such intrusion since 2017.

Relations between North Korea and US ally South Korea have grown more tense since South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol’s conservative government took over in May, promising a tougher stance towards the North.

Not counting Saturday’s launches, North Korea has fired around 70 ballistic missiles this year, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, including about eight intercontinental ballistic missiles.

North Korean state media KCNA did not mention the launches on Saturday morning, but said that leader Kim Jong-un had presided over a party meeting on Friday to decide policy and strategy for 2023.

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