Early on the morning of December 18, less than a day after launching a ballistic missile on the evening of December 17, North Korea continued to launch a new object into the East Sea.
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| An intercontinental ballistic missile test in April. (Source: KCNA) |
The South Korean military announced on December 18 that North Korea launched a ballistic missile from its east coast toward the Sea of Japan.
Meanwhile, NHK quoted a statement from the Japanese Ministry of Defense saying that this missile is likely a long-range missile.
According to the Ministry, as of 6:40 a.m. (Hanoi time), the missile was still flying. Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio announced a meeting of the national security council to discuss the launch.
Earlier, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that on December 17, North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile from inside or around Pyongyang at around 10:38 p.m. local time (8:38 p.m. Hanoi time) and flew about 570 km before falling into the East Sea of the country.
The move comes after South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik warned North Korea on December 13 that “destructive hell” awaits if the country takes “reckless” actions.
The Korean Central News Agency (KNCA) reported today that Pyongyang criticized the above statement, and reiterated that South Korea must bear responsibility for breaking the 2018 Inter-Korean Military Agreement.
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