North Korea fires 3 missiles into East Sea following South's test

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North Korea fires 3 missiles into East Sea following South's test

Published: 31 Dec. 2022, 10:06 Updated: 31 Dec. 2022, 13:14

Breaking news on North Korea firing ballistic missiles on Dec. 23 shown on a TV at Seoul Station [YONHAP]

North Korea fired three short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Saturday, a day after South Korea tested a space rocket in a surprise launch.

Missile tests by the North in 2022 now total at least 70.

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), three short-range ballistic missiles were fired from Chunghwa County, North Hwanghae on Saturday morning. The launches were detected at about 8 a.m.

No other details of the tests were immediately provided.

The South Korean military is at a heightened level of alert and surveillance and closely coordinating with the United States, the JCS said in a statement.

“We are maintaining all readiness,” the JCS stated.

A statement issued by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said it is aware of the launches and that the "event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies."

The missiles flew about 350 kilometers (217 miles) and reached altitudes of about 100 kilometers, according to Kyodo News citing Japan's Defense Ministry.

NK News quotes the ministry as saying the launches occurred at 8:01 a.m., 8:14 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. and that all three had fallen into the sea by 8:24 a.m.

The tests on Saturday came at the end of a week of intense activity on the peninsula.

It began on Monday with an unprecedented raid across the demilitarized zone by five North Korean drones. President Yoon Suk Yeol was furious that the military was unable to shoot down the invading aircraft despite the unmanned aerial vehicles being present in South Korean airspace for hours.

On Thursday, Yoon visited the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and called on the professionals working there to be ever vigilant and always prepared for war. A day later, a solid-fuel space rocket was fired from the ADD's Anheung Test Center unannounced, setting the country on edge and inspiring a flurry of speculation and rumors online.

A test launch of a domestically developed solid-fuel rocket was conducted from the ADD's test center, located in Taean County, South Chungcheong, in March. The type of rocket tested is capable of putting small satellites into orbit.

North Korea's most recent test before the Saturday volley was two days before Christmas when two short-range ballistic missiles were fired from near Pyongyang. The North claimed that launch was a test of a surveillance satellite and published images of Seoul and Incheon it said were taken as the vehicle was in flight.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]