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| A TV screen shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station on March 13. South Korea said Wednesday that North Korea test-launched multiple cruise missiles toward the North's eastern waters. AP |
By Ko Dong-hwan
North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles toward the East Sea, Wednesday, the South Korean military said.
The missiles were fired at 10:15 a.m. from Hamhung, South Hamgyong Province that flanks the country's east coast, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
The North is presumed to have fired long-range cruise missiles also known as the North Korean version of the U.S. Tomahawk missile.
The North's latest missile launch came as South Korea and the U.S. held joint military drills known as the Freedom Shield command post exercise. The 10-day joint exercise is scheduled to end on Thursday. The two allies have also been engaging in a field training exercise called Warrior Shield.
North Korea's latest missile launch, as well as ones conducted earlier this month, are largely interpreted as the isolated state's protest against the joint drills. But the South Korean military said North Korea's latest provocation will not hinder the combined military drills.
"Under the firm combined defense posture, our military will successfully wrap up Freedom Shield and continue to carry out the ongoing Warrior Shield in a high-intensity manner," the JCS said.
North Korea's previous missile launch took place last Sunday when a short-range ballistic missile was fired from Tongchang-ri in North Pyongan Province, home to a long-range rocket test site on the northwestern coast. That missile flew about 800 kilometers east across land before falling into waters off the country's east coast.
On March 16, the North fired a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile into the East Sea. The launch took place just hours before a summit between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo. The missile landed in the East Sea between the two countries.
The North also fired two short-range ballistic missiles on March 14 and two cruise missiles from a submarine on March 12.
Meanwhile, South Korea and the U.S. conducted a large-scale maritime exercise, known as Ssangyong Drill, involving vessels from both countries taking part in an amphibious landing near the southeastern coastal city of Pohang.
Held from Monday to April 3, the drill resumed after a five-year hiatus. This year, it was part of the allies' Freedom Shield spring joint military exercise.
Some 1,600 soldiers, 30 vessels, 70 fighter jets and 70 amphibious assault vehicles joined the exercise. The amphibious assault ships ROKS Dokdo, ROKS Marado and the USS Makin Island were among the fleet, according to the Navy and Marine Corps.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the alliance between South Korea and the U.S. South Korea's Ministry of National Defense said dozens of events will be held throughout this year to commemorate the milestone, including their largest-ever live-fire joint exercise scheduled for June. The ministry said the drills are aimed at countering the North's evolving nuclear and missile threats.
The allies will mobilize the most up-to-date equipment to demonstrate their maneuverability, according to the ministry. South Korea and the U.S. will also hold large ceremonies in September and October to mark the 75th Armed Forces Day on Oct. 1.
The bilateral alliance was signed in 1953 through the Mutual Defense Treaty, two months after fighting in the Korean War ended with a ceasefire agreement.
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