N. Korea fired two missiles from Wonsan early Thursday
Arirang News
2019-07-25
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北 미상 발사체 동해상으로 2발 발사
Just a few weeks ago, it was handshakes and smiles when North Korean Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump met at the DMZ,… but the North might have made things even more complicated now by launching two projectiles... in which the South Korean military presume are "short-range" missiles into the East Sea.
Let's get straight to our defense ministry correspondent Kim Ji-yeon, who's on the line.
Ji-yeon, have we learned anything new about North Korea's launch?
I'm afraid not... it's highly unlikely that Seoul's defense ministry will give more details about the launch, at least for today... given my past experience when us reporters were briefed about North Korea's test-fire of weapons launched in May.
The most recent piece of news was about the flying distance of the second short-range missile... in which South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said flew some 690 kilometers from North Korea's eastern city of Wonsan towards the East Sea.
As to how the second missile flew nearly 700 kilometers... that puts nearly all of the South Korean territory in its range.
Another question is on whether it's likely to be a North Korean version of Russia's Iskander-class missile, which can carry nuclear warheads and can evade existing anti-missile systems.
The military said it's presumed to have been launched from the ground using a transporter erector launcher... which means the missile could be moved to be launched from a desired location... and not bound to a standard missile launch site... making it harder to predict North Korea's movements in advance.
The same goes for the first short-range missile which flew some 430 kilometers at 5:34 AM Thursday... 23 minutes before the second missile in the same Wonsan location... both of them with altitudes between 50 and 60 kilometers.
The first missile flew some 200 kilometers further than the one launched by the North in May this year.
"Regarding North Korea's firing of projectiles presumed to be short-range missiles this morning, South Korea and U.S. have a sharing of military information pact and the latest data is being studied in detail. The South Korean government has been monitoring the situation and urges North Korea to halt such actions, which are not helpful in lowering military tensions on the Korean peninsula."
As to whether Seoul's defense ministry views the recent launch as a violation of the inter-Korean Comprehensive Military Agreement signed by the two Koreas last September to alleviate military tensions in the peninsula... the spokesperson said the firing goes against the spirit of the agreement.
Tell us more about the area the missiles were launched from, Wonsan, and how you expect this to impact the denuclearization talks?
The Joint Chief of Staff says it's been closely watching the Wonsan area, where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has recently made public appearances.... and it's speculated Kim could have been at the site when the missiles were launched this morning.
It
Just a few weeks ago, it was handshakes and smiles when North Korean Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump met at the DMZ,… but the North might have made things even more complicated now by launching two projectiles... in which the South Korean military presume are "short-range" missiles into the East Sea.
Let's get straight to our defense ministry correspondent Kim Ji-yeon, who's on the line.
Ji-yeon, have we learned anything new about North Korea's launch?
I'm afraid not... it's highly unlikely that Seoul's defense ministry will give more details about the launch, at least for today... given my past experience when us reporters were briefed about North Korea's test-fire of weapons launched in May.
The most recent piece of news was about the flying distance of the second short-range missile... in which South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said flew some 690 kilometers from North Korea's eastern city of Wonsan towards the East Sea.
As to how the second missile flew nearly 700 kilometers... that puts nearly all of the South Korean territory in its range.
Another question is on whether it's likely to be a North Korean version of Russia's Iskander-class missile, which can carry nuclear warheads and can evade existing anti-missile systems.
The military said it's presumed to have been launched from the ground using a transporter erector launcher... which means the missile could be moved to be launched from a desired location... and not bound to a standard missile launch site... making it harder to predict North Korea's movements in advance.
The same goes for the first short-range missile which flew some 430 kilometers at 5:34 AM Thursday... 23 minutes before the second missile in the same Wonsan location... both of them with altitudes between 50 and 60 kilometers.
The first missile flew some 200 kilometers further than the one launched by the North in May this year.
"Regarding North Korea's firing of projectiles presumed to be short-range missiles this morning, South Korea and U.S. have a sharing of military information pact and the latest data is being studied in detail. The South Korean government has been monitoring the situation and urges North Korea to halt such actions, which are not helpful in lowering military tensions on the Korean peninsula."
As to whether Seoul's defense ministry views the recent launch as a violation of the inter-Korean Comprehensive Military Agreement signed by the two Koreas last September to alleviate military tensions in the peninsula... the spokesperson said the firing goes against the spirit of the agreement.
Tell us more about the area the missiles were launched from, Wonsan, and how you expect this to impact the denuclearization talks?
The Joint Chief of Staff says it's been closely watching the Wonsan area, where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has recently made public appearances.... and it's speculated Kim could have been at the site when the missiles were launched this morning.
It
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