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

All News 03:09 October 09, 2022

SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) toward the East Sea on Sunday, the South Korean military said, after Seoul and Washington wrapped up a naval exercise, involving a U.S. aircraft carrier, the previous day.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launches from Munchon in Gangwon Province between 1:48 a.m. and 1:58 a.m. It did not provide other details.

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

The launch, the seventh such provocation in two weeks, followed the conclusion of the South Korea-U.S. exercise, involving the USS Ronald Reagan carrier, on Saturday and of the allies' trilateral drills with Japan on Thursday.

It also came on the eve of the 77th anniversary of the founding of the North's ruling Workers' Party.

The American carrier was redeployed to waters east of the peninsula on Wednesday, a day after Pyongyang fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan.

On Saturday, a spokesperson of the North's defense ministry took issue with the carrier's deployment, calling it an "event of considerably huge negative splash to the regional situation."

The official added the North's military is "seriously" approaching the "extremely worrisome" development of the situation.

Also on the day, the North's National Aviation Administration (NAA) said Pyongyang's missile test is a "self-defensive" step against what it sees as U.S. military threats.