N.Korea test fires more ballistic missiles
The regime of North Korea's Kim Jong-un has fired two ballistic missiles. Photo: Getty
North Korea has fired a pair of ballistic missiles off its east coast, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff say, days after testing a long-range cruise missile.
Pyongyang has been steadily developing its weapons program amid a standoff over talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in return for US sanctions relief. The negotiations have stalled since 2019.
Japan’s Coast Guard also said an object that could be a ballistic missile was fired from North Korea that landed outside it exclusive economic zone.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga condemned the apparent test launch and called it “outrageous”.
Both Mr Suga and South Korean President Moon Jae-in convened sessions of their national security councils to discuss the launches, according to their offices.
The foreign ministers of South Korea and China were holding talks in Seoul on Wednesday amid concerns about North Korea’s recent missile test and stalled denuclearisation negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington.
The launch came after North Korea said it successfully tested a new long-range cruise missile last weekend, calling it “a strategic weapon of great significance.”
Analysts say the missile could be the country’s first such weapon with a nuclear capability.