I held Seoul and America responsible
North Korea launches two new missiles, sends 12 fighters into flight
People watch a news broadcast about a North Korean missile test at a railway station in Seoul.
AFP
North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea yesterday morning and sent 12 fighters to fly in formation, stressing that its missile tests are the "appropriate measure to respond" to the joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States.
During a closed meeting of the Security Council, China held, last Wednesday, the United States responsible for the launch of a North Korean medium-range ballistic missile, which flew over Japan, in a precedent five years ago, before it fell in the Pacific Ocean.
And the South Korean military in Seoul announced that two short-range ballistic missiles were launched last Monday, from the outskirts of Pyongyang towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.
The first missile traveled 350 km and flew at a maximum altitude of 80 km, according to the analysis of the South Korean military.
The second missile flew 800 km at an altitude of 60 km.
On the same day, 12 North Korean fighters, eight fighters and four bombers, "performed a sortie in the formation of the northern inter-Korean air border, and it is estimated that they conducted air-to-ground firing exercises," the Seoul-based Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned the launch of these two missiles, stressing that this is the sixth test of its kind in two weeks "totally unacceptable."
Last Tuesday, the Hwasong-12 missile flew over Japan, covering about 4,600 km, the longest distance likely recorded by Pyongyang in its tests.
The North Korean ministry said in a statement yesterday that the launches are the "correct response measures of the Korean People's Army to the joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States, which lead to an escalation of military tension on the Korean Peninsula."
After the launch last Tuesday, Washington called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, but China blamed the United States.
Assistant to the Chinese ambassador, Geng Shuang, said that he "took note" of Pyongyang's launch of a missile that flew over Japan, referring at the same time to the "many joint military exercises carried out by the United States and other countries in the region."
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