North Korea fired four banned ballistic missiles over 1,000km, with three of them landing in waters which Japan claims as its exclusive economic zone, officials said.
North Korea fired four banned ballistic missiles over 1,000km, with three of them landing in waters which Japan claims as its exclusive economic zone, officials said.
The test launches appear to be a reaction to huge US-South Korean military drills which are viewed as an invasion rehearsal by Pyongyang.
The ramped-up tests come as North leader Kim Jong Un pushes for a nuclear and missile programme which can deter what he calls US and South Korean hostility.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said three missiles landed in the 200-nautical-mile offshore area where Tokyo has sovereign rights for exploring and exploiting resources. He said a fourth missile fell “near” Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
This is the third time that North Korean missiles have fallen in the Japanese zone, beginning last August.
An unidentified spokesman for the North’s general staff of the Korean People’s Army said last week that Pyongyang’s reaction to the southern drills would be the “toughest ever”.
The US has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea and 50,000 in Japan, as a deterrent against potential aggression from the North.
