South Korea’s military said North Korea fired several ballistic missiles toward the sea on Wednesday, following the launch of an unidentified projectile on Tuesday.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the missiles were launched from North Korea’s eastern coastal Wonsan area toward eastern waters.
It is feared that the missile detected on Tuesday was also a ballistic missile.
The South Korean military has increased its surveillance and is exchanging information with the US.
The projectile fired Tuesday disappeared from South Korean military radar after showing abnormal development in the early stages of launch, South Korean media outlets reported.
Pyongyang dashes Seoul’s hopes for cordial relations
The launches came as North Korea made it clear it had no intention of reducing hostilities with the South, dashing Seoul’s hopes of resuming talks.
On Tuesday night, Jang Kum Chol, First Vice Minister of Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry, said South Korea will always remain the North’s “most hostile enemy state.”
He mocked South Korea as a “world-shocking fool” for raising his hopes after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister praised South Korean President Lee Jae Myung for expressing regret over recent drone incursions into the North.
He made derogatory comments against Seoul’s hopes for cordial relations.
South Korean officials described Kim’s sister’s comments as a rare act of reconciliation. However, Jang rejected the interpretations and said his statement was meant as a warning.
Despite Lee’s repeated efforts to normalize relations between the two arch rivals, North Korea has refused to return to the table for talks with South Korea and the United States, which is pushing for Pyongyang’s denuclearization.
Edited by: Shawn Sinico