North Korea Launches Three Ballistic Missiles Into Sea
MEP: North Korea on Tuesday launched three ballistic missiles off its eastern coast, according to the South Korean military.
“The ballistic missiles flight went from 500 kilometers to 600 kilometers, which is a distance far enough to strike all of South Korea including Busan,” said South Korea’s military in a statement released shortly after the launch.
The US officials meanwhile said the first two were believed to be short-range Scuds while the third was a mid-range Rodong or Nodong.
A statement from the Pentagon said that U.S. Strategic Command systems tracked “what we assess were three North Korean missile launches.” It said the missile launches did not pose a threat to North America.
The missile test comes six days after South Korea announced it will deploy the advanced U.S THAAD missile defense system at Seongju County, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) southeast of Seoul.
North Korea is barred by UN sanctions from any test of nuclear or ballistic missile technology. But tensions have soared since it carried out its fourth nuclear test in January.
