Seoul: North Korea fires two short-range missiles On balloon affair: US Secretary of State Blinken and China’s Wang Yi meet

North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the open sea, according to the South Korean military. The two missiles were launched early Monday morning (local time) from the western region of South Pyongan, the general staff in the capital Seoul said. They flew towards the Sea of ​​Japan (Korean: Baltic Sea). How far they flew was initially unclear.

Only on Saturday did the largely isolated country fire a long-range missile that could theoretically reach US territory. The Hwasongpho-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) reached its target area in the Sea of ​​Japan after a flight of nearly 990 kilometers, state media reported. Such missiles are considered the main carriers for nuclear weapons.

Tests of ICBMs and other ballistic missiles have been banned in North Korea by United Nations decrees. North Korea’s development of ICBMs is primarily aimed at the United States, which Pyongyang accuses of hostile policies.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula had risen sharply in the past year. Communist-ruled North Korea, subject to international sanctions over its nuclear weapons program, increased the scope and pace of its missile tests. South Korea and the US are fully resuming their maneuvers. (sda/dpa)