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| North Korea's KN-23 short-range ballistic missile, similar to the Russian Iskander, is being launched in this photo released by Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency in January 2021. Pyongyang launched ballistic missiles repeatedly this week, two on Wednesday and one on Sunday, in what is seen as a show of force against joint naval drills between South Korea and the United States. Yonhap |
By Yi Whan-woo
North Korea launched what appear to have been two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, Wednesday, apparently in another show of force against the latest joint military drills between South Korea and the United States.
The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launches of two North Korean missiles from the Sunan area of Pyongyang between 6:10 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.
The missiles traveled a distance of 360 kilometers after reaching a maximum altitude of 30 kilometers at a top speed of Mach 6, according to the JCS.
"The military has strengthened monitoring activities and vigilance and is maintaining a full readiness posture in close cooperation with the U.S.," it added.
Wednesday's launch came on the eve of a planned visit to Seoul by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is scheduled to visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas.
Harris will be the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the heavily-fortified inter-Korean border since 2019 when then-American President Donald Trump crossed it to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The launch also comes after the North fired a short-range ballistic missile, Sunday, a day before Seoul and Washington started large-scale combined navy drills for a four-day run.
The drills are taking place in waters off the east coast of South Korea and mark the largest joint naval exercise in five years.
They involve more than 20 vessels and an assortment of weapons, including the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan, a centerpiece of U.S. naval might.
Meanwhile, the missile launched on Sunday was suspected of being the KN-23, which is similar to the Russian Iskander.
That missile traveled 600 kilometers after reaching a maximum altitude of 60 kilometers at a top speed of Mach 5.
Pyongyang fired 18 ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles so far this year. Six of them were launched after President Yoon Suk-yeol took office in May. North has refused to accept Yoon's offer for economic aid in return for scrapping its nuclear program.
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