SEOUL: North Korea test-fired three ballistic missiles into the sea Monday, South Korea said, in a new show of force as world leaders meet at the G20 summit in China.
\nThe missiles were fired into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) from the North\u2019s Hwangju county at around 0300 GMT, a spokesman for Seoul\u2019s defence ministry said.
\nThe sabre-rattling follows the North\u2019s submarine-launched ballistic missile test some two weeks ago.
\n“They are speculated to be Rodong missiles with a range of 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) and were fired without navigational warning to Japan,” the spokesman said in a statement.
\n“North Korea\u2019s ballistic missile launch is a direct violation of UN Security Council resolutions, aimed at showing off its nuclear and missile capabilities during the G20 summit,” he added.
\nThe defence ministry in Tokyo said the three missiles are estimated to have fallen into Japan\u2019s maritime Exclusive Economic Zone.
\n“The ministry expresses serious concern over the missile launches as they pose a grave threat to Japan\u2019s national security,” a ministry statement said.
\nThe North\u2019s latest tests sparked strong protests from senior Japanese and US officials.
\nThe launches “are a grave security provocation and can never be permitted”, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters in Tokyo.
\n“We have lodged a strong protest against North Korea.”
\nA senior US administration official at the G20 in Hangzhou also condemned the launches as a threat to its allies and to civilian air travel, and vowed diplomatic action against the Pyongyang regime.
\n“Today\u2019s reckless launches by North Korea pose threats to civil aviation and maritime commerce in the region,” the official said.
\nWashington would try to “bolster international resolve to hold the DPRK (North Korea) accountable for its provocative actions”.
\nMonday\u2019s missile launches came hours after South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the summit in Hangzhou.
\nTies between South Korea and China have been frosty since Seoul announced plans to deploy a US anti-missile system in July to counter growing nuclear and missile threats from the North.
\nDuring the summit, Xi reiterated Beijing\u2019s opposition to Seoul\u2019s planned deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, arguing that “mishandling” the issue could “intensify disputes” in the region, China\u2019s state-run Xinhua news agency said.
\nPark labelled North Korea\u2019s continued provocations as a “challenge” to Seoul-Beijing ties, adding that security threats from Pyongyang were at an “unprecedented level”, South Korea\u2019s Yonhap news agency said.
\nNorth Korea has conducted a series of missile tests this year in defiance of UN sanctions imposed after its fourth nuclear test in January. The most recent was a submarine-launched ballistic missile last month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SEOUL: North Korea test-fired three ballistic missiles into the sea Monday, South Korea said, in a new show of force as world leaders meet at the G20 summit in China. The missiles were fired into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) from the North\u2019s Hwangju county at around 0300 GMT, a spokesman for Seoul\u2019s defence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n