Summary of domestic news in North Korea this week

SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of domestic news in North Korea this week.

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(2nd LD) N. Korea fires 3 short-range ballistic missiles toward East Sea: S. Korean military

SEOUL -- North Korea fired three more short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea Thursday night, the South Korean military said, about an hour after Pyongyang slammed Seoul and Washington's decision to extend joint air drills as a "very dangerous and wrong choice."

The missiles were launched from Koksan County in North Hwanghae Province at around 9:35 p.m., according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

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(8th LD) N. Korea's ICBM launch apparently failed; more SRBM shots follow allies' decision to extend air drills

SEOUL -- North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), believed to be a Hwasong-17, apparently ended in failure Thursday, a defense source here said, as the Kim Jong-un regime has intensified its military threats, especially amid large-scale joint air drills of South Korea and the United States.

The missile was launched from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at around 7:40 a.m. and flew about 760 kilometers at an apogee of around 1,920 km at a top speed of Mach 15, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

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(LEAD) N. Korea slams U.S.-S. Korea's decision to extend air drills as 'dangerous and false choice'

SEOUL -- North Korea on Thursday denounced South Korea and United States' decision to extend their joint combined air exercise as a "very dangerous and false choice."

"It was reported that the U.S. and South Korea decided to extend the combined air drill Vigilant Storm," Pak Jong-chon, secretary of the Central Committee of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency. "It is a very dangerous and false choice."

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(5th LD) N. Korea's missile flies across NLL for 1st time; S. Korea sends missiles northward in its show of force

SEOUL -- North Korea launched a barrage of missiles Wednesday, including one that flew across its de facto maritime border with South Korea for the first time since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, according to the South's military. In response, South Korea's fighter jets fired three precision-guided missiles into waters north of the Northern Limit Line (NLL).

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the North's firing of three short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) from a site in or around the North's eastern coastal city of Wonsan at around 8:51 a.m. One of them landed near South Korea's territorial waters, further raising tensions around the inter-Korean border. It marked the first time since the two Koreas' division that the North sent a ballistic missile southward past the NLL.

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(LEAD) N. Korea fires six more missiles toward East, Yellow Seas: S. Korean military

SEOUL -- North Korea fired six more missiles toward the East and Yellow Seas Wednesday, South Korea's military said, in its latest provocations after a series of missile launches earlier in the day.

The North launched the latest missiles, including suspected surface-to-air ones, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:10 p.m., toward the East Sea from Sondok and Sinpo areas, and toward the Yellow Sea from Kwail and Onchon areas, it said.

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(2nd LD) N. Korea says S. Korea, U.S. will pay 'terrible price' if they use force

SEOUL/WASHINGTON -- North Korea on Wednesday said the U.S. and South Korea will pay a terrible price should they decide to attack the North, arguing the allies' ongoing joint military drills are aimed at preparing for a potential invasion.

Pak Jong-chon, secretary of the Central Committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party, also called on Seoul and Washington to halt what he claimed to be military provocation against Pyongyang.

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(3rd LD) N. Korea warns of 'more powerful' actions against allies' air drills

SEOUL -- North Korea warned Tuesday that it could stage "more powerful follow-up measures" if the United States continues "military provocations," citing its large-scale combined air exercise with South Korea.

A spokesman at the North's foreign ministry denounced the ongoing combined air drills by the allies, called Vigilant Storm, as "ceaseless and reckless" military provocations.
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