North Korea fired multiple suspected short-range missiles

SEOUL: North Korea fired what appeared to be about ten suspected short-range missiles off its east coast, South Korea’s military said on Thursday.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said North Korea had launched a ballistic missile that apparently landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

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North Korea fired the suspected short-range missiles from the Sunan area near its capital Pyongyang at 6:14 am on Thursday and flew about 350 km before plunging into the sea, South Korea’s military said in a statement.

South Korea is sharing North Korean missile-related information with U.S. and Japanese officials, it added in the statement.

The launch came after North Korea failed on Monday at its attempt to put a second spy satellite into orbit when a newly developed rocket engine exploded in flight.

After the failure, leader Kim Jong Un pledged never to give up space reconnaissance projects.

On Thursday, a North Korean foreign ministry official condemned UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ statement that the attempted launch of another military satellite using ballistic missile technology was against UN Security Council resolutions.

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In another launch watched by its neighbours, North Korea sent hundreds of balloons carrying trash and excrement across the heavily fortified border to South Korea on Wednesday, prompting an angry response from Seoul, which said the act was base and dangerous.