North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles and artillery shells toward its eastern waters Monday, escalating animosities over U.S.-South Korean military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal.
The weapons firings follow an intercontinental ballistic missile launch Saturday and North Korea's threats to take an unprecedented strong response to the drills. A new testing spree also allows North Korea to expand its arsenals amid stalled talks with its rivals and eventually use the boosted military capability as leverage to wrest bigger concessions from the United States.
Japan's Defense Ministry said both missiles landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. It said Japan condemned the launches as a threat to the peace and safety of Japan and the international society. The North said the launches involved its new 600 millimeter multiple rocket launcher system that could be armed with “tactical” nuclear weapons intended for battlefield use. Some experts viewed the weapons system as a short-range ballistic missile.
She could be referring to the U.S. flyover of B-1B long-range, supersonic bombers on Sunday for separate training with South Korea and Japan. The B-1B deployment came as response to North Korea’s launch of the Hwasong-15 ICBM off its east coast on Saturday in the country’s first missile test since Jan. 1.
North Korea has steadfastly slammed regular South Korea-U.S. military drills as a practice for a northward invasion though the allies say their exercises are defensive in nature. Some observers say North Korea often uses its rivals' drills as a pretext to hone and perfect its weapons systems.
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