North Korea fired two ballistic missiles over the sea off its east coast on Monday, said South Korea’s military, after the North vowed to take countermeasures against a joint military exercise held by South Korea, the United States and Japan.
One short-range ballistic missile was launched from the Jangyon area in South Hwanghae Province at about 5:05 a.m. in a northeastern direction, said the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, or JCS.
Another unidentified ballistic missile was launched at around 5:15 a.m, it added, without providing further details.
“While strengthening our monitoring and vigilance against additional launches, our military is maintaining a full-readiness posture while sharing North Korean ballistic missile data with U.S. and Japanese authorities,” the JCS said in a text message to reporters.
The North vowed on Sunday to take “offensive and overwhelming countermeasures” to protect its sovereignty as it condemned South Korea, the United States and Japan for their recent joint military exercises.
North Korea will “never overlook the moves of the U.S. and its followers to strengthen the military bloc ... but firmly defend the sovereignty, security and interests of the state and peace in the region through offensive and overwhelming countermeasures,” the North’s foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
The ministry did not elaborate on what it meant by countermeasures.
On Saturday, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan wrapped up their first, three-day trilateral multi-domain military exercise, codenamed “Freedom Edge,” aimed at strengthening their deterrence against North Korean threats.
The three countries have staged combined maritime and aerial exercises before, but Freedom Edge was the first trilateral exercise held across multiple domains, including air, maritime, underwater and cyber.
Monday’s launch came five days after North Korea fired a ballistic missile over the sea off its east coast.
The North claimed the next day to have successfully conducted a multiple warhead missile test but the South dismissed that as a “deception,” saying the launch ended in failure when the missile exploded in midair.
The latest launch comes amid deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a "comprehensive strategic partnership" treaty during a summit last month in Pyongyang.
The pact includes a pledge by the two countries to offer military assistance “without delay” if either is attacked.
Edited by Mike Firn.