North Korea launches two ballistic missiles, and Seoul concludes exercises
North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Friday, the South Korean military said, as Seoul concluded a major drill that lasted nearly two weeks aimed at deterring its neighbor.
The launch comes at a time when fears are growing that Pyongyang is preparing to conduct its first nuclear test since 2017, and it is the latest in a year that witnessed an unprecedented number of launches, whether of short-range missiles, intercontinental ballistic missiles, or others.
The South Korean military's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the two short-range ballistic missiles were fired from Tongchon county in Gangwon Province on North Korea's east coast, four days after the two countries fired warning shots off the west coast amid heightened tension.
"Our military maintains a state of full readiness," the agency said in a statement, adding that it has beefed up monitoring and security measures while coordinating closely with the United States.
The US military's Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that the launch did not pose a direct threat to the United States or its allies.
But, she added, it "highlights the destabilizing effect" of North Korea's illicit weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.
The US Department of Defense (Pentagon) said that North Korea fired two ballistic missiles from the central part of the country.
South Korea's foreign ministry said the nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan spoke by phone and condemned the missile launch as a provocation and a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
"North Korea's nuclear and missile development will only enhance security cooperation in the region and beyond," the ministry said in a statement.
She urged North Korea to return to talks.
South Korean forces are scheduled to end Friday's 12-day field exercises, Hojok 22, which included some exercises with US forces.
The US Air Force said that about 240 South Korean and US warplanes are scheduled to begin exercises on Monday, during which they will conduct about 1,600 sorties, in the largest number of sorts ever carried out in such exercises.
The Air Force stated that Allied aircraft would perform "important air missions such as close air support, counter air defense and air emergency operations 24 hours a day during the training period."
Ground forces are also trained in defense and counterattack procedures.
North Korea has said the recent missile launches were in protest of the joint exercises, which it says are provocative and tantamount to rehearsing for an invasion.
Seoul and Washington say the exercises are defensive and necessary to counter Pyongyang's threats.
The United States and its allies believe North Korea may be on the verge of resuming nuclear bomb tests for the first time since 2017.
South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol said Pyongyang had completed all necessary technical preparations for an underground blast at the Punggye-ri test site, which has been officially closed since 2018.
North Korea conducted six nuclear tests there between 2006 and 2017.
On Thursday, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said that Pyongyang's seventh nuclear test would be "confirmation of a program that is moving with full force forward in a manner of grave concern."
South Korea has warned that North Korea's resumption of nuclear tests must be met with an "unparalleled" response from allies, without it or the United States providing any details of that response.
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