North Korea tests short-range missiles as
South Korea, U.S. conduct drills
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[August 26, 2017]
By Jack Kim and Phil Stewart
SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea
fired several short-range missiles into the sea off its east coast early
on Saturday, South Korea and the U.S. military said, as the two allies
conducted annual joint military drills that the North denounces as
preparation for war.
The U.S. military's Pacific Command said it had detected three
short-range ballistic missiles, fired over a 20 minute period.
One appeared to have blown up almost immediately while two flew about
250 km (155 miles) in a northeasterly direction, Pacific Command said,
revising an earlier assessment that two of the missiles had failed in
flight.
The test came just days after senior U.S. officials praised North Korea
and leader Kim Jong Un for showing restraint in not firing any missiles
since late July.
The South Korean Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the
projectiles were launched from the North's eastern Kangwon province into
the sea.
Later on Saturday, the South Korean Presidential Blue House said the
North may have fired an upgraded 300-mm caliber multiple rocket launcher
but the military was still analyzing the precise details of the
projectiles.
Pacific Command said the missiles did not pose a threat to the U.S.
mainland or to the Pacific territory of Guam, which North Korea had
threatened earlier this month to surround in a "sea of fire".
Tensions had eased somewhat since a harsh exchange of words between
Pyongyang and Washington after U.S. President Donald Trump had warned
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un he would face "fire and fury" if he
threatened the United States.
North Korea's last missile test on July 28 was for an intercontinental
ballistic missile designed to fly 10,000 km (6,200 miles). That would
put parts of the U.S. mainland within reach and prompted heated
exchanges that raised fears of a new conflict on the peninsula.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the missiles did not
reach its territory or exclusive economic zone and did not pose a threat
to Japan's safety.
MILITARY DRILLS
The South Korean and U.S. militaries are in the midst of the annual
Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills involving computer simulations of a war to
test readiness and run until Aug. 31.
The region where the missiles were launched, Kittaeryong, is a known
military test site frequently used by the North for short-range missile
drills, said Kim Dong-yub, a military expert at the Institute for Far
Eastern Studies in Seoul.
"So rather than a newly developed missile, it looks to be short range
missiles they fired as part of their summer exercise and also in
response to the Ulchi Freedom Guardian drill," he said.
The United States and South Korea are technically still at war with the
North because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace
treaty. The North routinely says it will never give up its weapons
programs, saying they are necessary to counter perceived U.S. hostility.
Washington has repeatedly urged China, North Korea's main ally and
trading partner, to do more to rein in Pyongyang.
[to top of second column] |
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guides a target-striking contest of
the special operation forces of the Korean People's Army (KPA) to
occupy islands in this undated picture provided by KCNA in Pyongyang
on August 25, 2017. KCNA via Reuters
China's commerce ministry late on Friday banned North Korean
individuals and enterprises from doing new business in China, in
line with United Nations Security Council sanctions passed earlier
this month.
TRUMP BRIEFED
The White House said Trump had been briefed about the latest
missiles but did not immediately have further comment.
The U.S. State Department did not immediately comment about the
Saturday launches. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson earlier this
week credited the North with showing restraint by not launching a
missile since the July ICBM test.
Tillerson had said he hoped that the lack of missile launches or
other “provocative acts” by Pyongyang could mean a path could be
opening for dialogue "sometime in the near future."
Trump also expressed optimism earlier this week about a possible
improvement in relations. "I respect the fact that he is starting to
respect us," Trump said of Kim.
North Korea's state media reported on Saturday that Kim had guided a
contest of amphibious landing and aerial strike by its army against
targets modeled after South Korean islands near the sea border on
the west coast.
The official KCNA news agency quoted Kim as telling its Army that it
"should think of mercilessly wiping out the enemy with arms only and
occupying Seoul at one go and the southern half of Korea."
A new poster on a North Korean propaganda website on Saturday showed
a missile dealing "a retaliatory strike of justice" against the U.S.
mainland, threatening to "wipe out the United States, the source of
evil, without a trace."
On Wednesday, Kim ordered the production of more rocket engines and
missile warheads during a visit to a facility associated with North
Korea's ballistic missile program.
Diagrams and what appeared to be missile parts shown in photographs
published in the North's state media suggested Pyongyang was
pressing ahead with building a longer-range ballistic missile that
could potentially reach any part of the U.S. mainland including
Washington.
(Additional reporting by Ju-min Park in Seoul, Nobuhiro Kubo and Tim
Kelly in Tokyo, Christian Shepherd in Beijing and David Brunnstrom
and Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Michael
Perry)
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