North Korea fires two ballistic missiles, South Korean military says
The ballistic missiles landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone
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Your support makes all the difference.North Korea fired two ballistic missiles on Sunday towards the sea off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast, the South Korean military said.
Japan’s broadcaster NHK reported that the ballistic missiles landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Japan’s vice defence minister Toshiro Ino said that there was no report of damage so far.
North Korea has fired missiles with “unprecedented frequency” this year and according to Japanese officials, Sunday’s launch is the 35th time they have fired this year.
It says that among them, 16 occurred from late September to the end of November.
Pyongyang says it fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile on 18 November.
This launch comes just days after North Korea tested a high-thrust solid-fuel engine that experts said would allow quicker and more mobile launch of ballistic missiles.
KCNA reported that the test on Thursday was overseen by North Korea leader Kim Jong-un and was conducted on Thursday at North Korea’s Sohae Satellite Launching Ground which has been used to test missile technologies, including rocket engines and space launch vehicles.
Meanwhile, the Japan Coast Guard said on Sunday that the first missile had been launched around 11.17am local time and had already landed in the Sea of Japan around 11.31am. Reports said that this could mean that it may have been a launch of “a shorter-range weapon and not one of the North’s more provocative longer-range missiles.”
Japan’s defence minitry said North Korean missile flew to an altitude of 550 km and covered a range of 500km.
The missile landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles (370 km) from its coast.
In November, North Korea test-fired an ICBM that Japanese officials said had sufficient range to reach the mainland of the United States and that landed just 200 km off Japan, Reuters reported.
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