The News
Thursday 28 of March 2024

South Korea Says North Korea Fired Short-Range Projectile


Kim Jong Un,Photo: Ahn Young-joon
Kim Jong Un,Photo: Ahn Young-joon
North Korea has fired a slew of short-range missiles and artillery shells into the sea

North Korea fired a short-range projectile from an area near its eastern coast on Tuesday, South Korean officials said, in what appears to be another weapons test seen as a response to ongoing military drills between Washington and Seoul.

The projectile was fired near the North Korean port city of Wonsan and flew about 200 kilometers (125 miles) before crashing into land northeast of the launch site, South Korean military officials said.

FILE - In this Friday, March 18, 2016, file photo, visitors look at the northern side at the Imjingak Pavilion near the border with North Korea, in Paju, South Korea.  North Korea fired a short-range projectile from an area near its eastern coast on Tuesday, March 29, 2016, South Korean officials said, in what appears to be another weapons test seen as a response to ongoing military drills between Washington and Seoul.(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Visitors look at the northern side at the Imjingak Pavilion near the border with North Korea, in Paju, South Korea. North Korea fired a short-range projectile from an area near its eastern coast on Tuesday, March 29, 2016, South Korean officials said, in what appears to be another weapons test seen as a response to ongoing military drills between Washington and Seoul. Photo: AP/Lee Jin-man

It was unclear whether the projectile was a ballistic missile or an artillery shell, said a Joint Chiefs of Staff official who didn’t want to be identified, citing office rules. It was too early to tell whether North Korea used a land target to test the accuracy and range of its weapons or experienced problems after planning a launch into the sea, said an official from Seoul’s Defense Ministry, who also didn’t want to be named because of department rules.

North Korea has fired a slew of short-range missiles and artillery shells into the sea and has threatened nuclear strikes on Washington and Seoul since the start on March 7 of the annual springtime war games between the United States and South Korea.

North Korea also launched a medium-range ballistic missile into waters off its east coast for the first time since 2014 and touted a new artillery system it says could turn the South Korean capital of Seoul into a “sea of flames.” Experts say the North’s new artillery launchers can fire 300-millimeter shells up to 200 kilometers (125 miles), theoretically reaching Seoul and its surrounding metropolitan area, where nearly half of the 50 million South Koreans live.

Un hombre pasa frente a una pantalla de televisión con la imagen del líder norcoreano Kim Jong Un durante un noticioso en la estadipon ferroviaria de Seúl, Corea del Sur. Corea del Norte dijo el jueves que realizó exitosamente una prueba de motor de cohete de alta potencia de combustible sólido, lo cual en caso de confirmarse sería un enorme avance en su capacidad de atacar con misiles Corea del Sur y Estados Unidos. (AP Foto/Ahn Young-joon)
North Korea routinely tests short-range missiles and artillery systems but tends to do more launches in times of tension. Photo: AP/Ahn Young-joon

North Korea routinely tests short-range missiles and artillery systems but tends to do more launches in times of tension with the outside world. It condemns the annual military drills between Washington and Seoul as a rehearsal for an invasion. Tensions are particularly high this year because the drills are the largest ever and follow a recent North Korean nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch. Washington and Seoul say the drills are defensive in nature and they have no plans to invade North Korea.