This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/report-north-korea-fires-missile-short-range-projectiles/2016/03/21/1d4dd114-ef33-11e5-a2a3-d4e9697917d1_story.html
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Seoul: North Korea fires 5 short-range projectiles | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired five short-range projectiles into the sea on Monday, Seoul officials said, in a continuation of weapon launches it has carried out in an apparent response to ongoing South Korea-U.S. military drills it sees as a provocation. | |
The projectiles launched from a site near the northeastern city of Hamhung flew about 200 kilometers (125 miles) before landing in waters off North Korea’s east coast, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. | |
The firings came three days after Seoul said North Korea launched its first medium-range missile into the sea since early 2014, ignoring U.N. resolutions against such tests. | |
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency initially reported that a missile had also been launched on Monday, but later changed that to say projectiles had been fired. | |
The firings appear to be North Korea’s response to annual springtime U.S.-South Korean military exercises that it says are a rehearsal for an invasion. Earlier this month, North Korea fired several short-range missiles and artillery shells into the sea and threatened pre-emptive nuclear strikes against Washington and Seoul. | |
This year’s drills are the largest ever, and come after North Korea conducted a nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch earlier this year, leading the U.N. Security Council to impose its toughest sanctions on the country in two decades. | |
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently ordered tests of a nuclear warhead and ballistic missiles capable of carrying such warheads. He issued the orders while overseeing what state media called a successful simulated test of a re-entry vehicle aimed at returning a nuclear warhead to the atmosphere from space so it could hit its intended target. The re-entry vehicle is considered one of the last major technologies North Korea must master to develop long-range missiles equipped with nuclear weapons capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. | |
Analysts in South Korea said the medium-range missile launch last Friday may have been a test of the re-entry technology. North Korean state media have not commented on the reported launch. | |
South Korean defense officials say North Korea doesn’t yet have functioning intercontinental ballistic missiles. | |
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |