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North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea says

North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea's military said. The launch...
Newstalk
Newstalk

09.49 31 Jul 2019


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North Korea fires two short-ra...

North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea says

Newstalk
Newstalk

09.49 31 Jul 2019


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North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea's military said.

The launches come less than a week after Pyongyang tested weapons for the first time in more than two months.

South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said the launch came from Wonsan, a site on the North's eastern coast.

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The missiles are thought to have flown about 250km (155 miles) at a maximum altitude of 30km (19 miles).

"The North's repeated missile launches are not helpful to an effort to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and we urge (North Korea) to stop this kind of behaviour," the South Korean statement said.

The launches are being seen by some as an attempt to apply pressure on the United States of America.

North Korea This photo, released by the Korean Central News Agency on July 26th 2019, shows a missile being launched from a site near the North's eastern coastal town of Wonsan. Two missiles tested by North Korea on Thursday were a "new-type [of] tactical guided weapon" and their launch was meant to send a "solemn warning" to Seoul, the country's state-run news agency KCNA has reported | Image: DPA/PA Images
North Korea wants the US to reduce sanctions, among other concessions, as part of the on-going diplomatic tussle between the two countries.

The US wants North Korea to make firm guarantees to denuclearise.

On Thursday, Pyongyang fired two short-range missiles into the sea, with North Korea's state media saying the tests were supervised by ruler Kim Jong Un.

They reported the tests were designed to deliver a "solemn warning" to South Korea following its purchase of high-tech US-made fighter jets and planned military drills.

North Korea says its neighbours actions amount to an invasion rehearsal.

UN Security Council resolutions ban the country from using ballistic technology in any weapons launches.

North Korea is already under 11 rounds of UN sanctions and so further action is unlikely to be taken.

Japan's Defence Minister Takeshi Iwaya said on Wednesday that the launched objects did not reach the Japanese exclusive economic zone.


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Ballistic Missiles Kim Jong-Un North Korea Pyongyang Short-range Ballistic Missiles South Korea Wonsan

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