North Korea released several today cruise missiles from its northeast coastin what seems to be another reply to the maneuvers that Seoul and Washington are carrying out these days in the south of the peninsula.
The South Korean Army “detected several cruise missiles launched from the Hamhung area, in the province of South Hamgyong (northeast of the country) towards the East Sea (name given to the Sea of Japan in the two Koreas) at around 10:15 (1:15 GMT) today,” the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.
This is the tenth launch of missiles carried out this year by North Korea, half of which have been carried out in response to the celebration of the big maneuvers allies spring Freedom Shield, which began on March 13 and conclude tomorrow.
Unlike the launch of ballistic missiles, the launch of cruise missiles is not included in the resolutions of the UN Security Council that punish the regime of Pyongyang for the development of its weapons of mass destruction program.
“The Army of the Republic of Korea (official name of the South) will successfully complete the Freedom Shield joint command post exercise under a strong combined defense posture while continuing to steadfastly execute maneuvers on the ground (FTX) Warrior Shield“added the JCS.
Warrior Shield will continue to run for the next few days, and a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is expected to take part in these war games next week.
Today’s launch comes just three days after North Korea will launch a ballistic missile for the first time from a silo set up for this purpose.
On March 16, the regime also fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, a Hwasong-17, into the Sea of Japan, its projectile with the longest potential range. Pyongyang has repeatedly promised that it would respond forcefully to the Freedom Shield exercises, the largest the allies have conducted since 2018.
The peninsula is experiencing a historic level of tension after 2022 in which North Korea, which has rejected offers to return to dialogue, carried out a record number of weapons tests and in which the allies once again carried out large maneuvers and deployed aircraft carriers. nuclear-powered or strategic bombers on the peninsula.
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