(2nd LD) N. Korea fires 8 short-range ballistic missiles toward East Sea: S. Korean military

All News 10:46 June 05, 2022

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with new information; CHANGES headline)
By Kang Yoon-seung

SEOUL, June 5 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired eight short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) toward the East Sea on Sunday, a day after Seoul and Washington wrapped up their joint drills near the peninsula involving a U.S. aircraft carrier, according to the South's military.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the launches were detected from 9:08 a.m. to 9:43 a.m. from areas around Sunan in Pyongyang. Further details were not immediately available. An informed source earlier said missiles were launched from at least two locations.

"While strengthening monitoring activities and vigilance, our military, in close cooperation with the United States, is maintaining a full readiness posture," the JCS said in the message.

It marked the North's 18th show of force this year and the third since President Yoon Suk-yeol took office May 10 with a pledge to get tough on the recalcitrant regime.

The North test-fired a suspected new-type ICBM and two apparent short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on May 25 right after U.S. President Joe Biden's trip to Seoul and Tokyo.

South Korean and U.S. government officials said Pyongyang seems to have completed preparations for another nuclear test.

The previous day, South Korea and the United States finished a three-day combined exercise in international waters off Okinawa mobilizing the USS Ronald Reagan, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, apparently in order to send a stern message against North Korea's continued missile provocations.

It marked the first time for the allies to have mobilized a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier during a combined exercise since November 2017. North Korea has been highly sensitive to such a joint military exercise by the allies, describing it as a rehearsal for invasion.