North Korea fires 3 short range ballistic missiles into East Sea

ANKARA

North Korea on Saturday fired three suspected short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, the South Korean military claimed.

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), they detected the launches from Chunghwa County, south of the North Korean capital Pyongyang which flew some 350 kilometers (217 miles) before falling into the sea.

However, the JCS didn't share further details with the media.

“We strongly condemn them and call for an immediate stop,” Yonhap News Agency reported, citing a statement by the JCS.

“Our military will maintain a solid readiness posture based on capabilities to respond overwhelmingly to any North Korean provocations,” said the JCS.

The missile launches came just a day after South Korea conducted a successful test flight of its homemade solid-propellant space rocket.

On Thursday, South Korea’s armed forces also held military exercises, a day after Seoul failed to detect North Korean drones crossing into the southern side of the border triggering shutdown of two major airports and later the scrambling of jets and other armories.

North Korea has also vowed to bolster its “self-reliant defense capability” in the coming year, the country’s top leader told the ruling Workers’ Party early this week.

Pyongyang’s thrust on defending its territorial sovereignty comes amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula over the past several weeks as the US and South Korea hold joint military drills while North Korea fired dozens of projectiles and missiles.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid