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Thursday 29 September 2022 - 22:43

North Korea Fires 2 Ballistic Missiles Hours after Kamala Harris Leaves Seoul

Story Code : 1016859
North Korea Fires 2 Ballistic Missiles Hours after Kamala Harris Leaves Seoul
The South Korean military said it had detected the launch of “two short-range ballistic missiles from the Sunchon area in South Pyongan province” on Thursday.

“Amid strengthened surveillance and vigilance, our military maintains full preparedness while working closely with the US,” South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

Japan's coast guard also confirmed a likely ballistic missile launch from North Korea, citing information from the defense ministry. The Japanese public broadcaster NHK said the projectile “appears to have fallen outside Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone.”

On Thursday, Harris arrived in Seoul on a trip planned to underscore Washington’s commitment to defending South Korea in the face of alleged threats by the North. Harris also visited the heavily-fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas for the first time.

Harris met South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol at his office in the capital shortly after touching down from Japan, and praised the alliance between the countries as a "linchpin of security and prosperity."

North Korea also fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday, while Harris was in Japan. Pyongyang had fired one missile before she left Washington, DC, on Sunday.

The United States has about 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea, and the allies are conducting a large-scale joint naval exercise this week in a show of force. Under Seoul's hawkish new President Yoon, Seoul and Washington have boosted joint military drills.

On Thursday, Seoul announced it would also hold trilateral anti-submarine drills with Japan and the United States.

North Korea has already warned the joint naval drills might trigger an all-out war on the Korean Peninsula.
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