North Korea kept up its barrage of long-range missiles including one suspected Inter Continental Ballistic Missile fired from a base near the capital Pyongyang. The communist nation continued its fusillade of arms tests into Thursday. At least 3 missiles that included the ICBM set off an alarm in Japan and forced temporary disruption of trains and evacuation alerts.
In South Korea radios, public speakers, and cell phones, blared out alarms, and fishermen moved ashore in North Japan after the ISBM missile flew over its eastern shores. It adds to an ongoing salvo of provocative saber-rattling that American and South Korean officials say could lead up to a missile test in a few weeks.
The ICBM test fire was followed swiftly by two more ballistic missile launches of a shorter range. It drew swift condemnation from South Korea and Japan. The US also warned that it was prepared to take every step to guarantee the security of its homeland and its eastern allies including Japan and South Korea.
American Hyper Activity In The Korean Peninsula Provoking North Korea, Say Analysts
The US and South Korea are engaged in large-scale air force exercises around the Korean Peninsula. With the situation in Europe threatening to slip out of control, analysts are hard-pressed to explain the need to step up activity on another international front, especially as North Korea has regularly warned against any war games near its shores.
While the exercises are being portrayed as a defensive move against alleged North Korean buildup, Washington is also trying to bell two cats at once. It is also being seen as a signal that there will be no relaxation in its military buildup which is primarily aimed at China in the west.
The South Korean defense chief said that the ICBM was detected from a zone close to Pyongyang at around 7:40 am local time. The 2 short-range missiles took off after an hour. The ICBM was projected at a steep angle to avoid intruding into neighboring territories, reached an altitude of 1193 miles (1,920 kilometers), and traveled 472 miles (760 kilometers).