North Korea fired two short-range projectiles on Thanksgiving Day, according to South Korean military officials.
According to the Yonhap News Agency, citing the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pyongyang “fired two projectiles from what is presumed to be a super-large multiple rocket launcher.”
The military said the projectiles were fired from Yeonpo in the country’s eastern South Hamgyong Province and landed off the east coast at around 5 p.m. local time. They both flew around 250 miles and reached a maximum altitude of 60 miles and were fired in 30-second intervals.
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper described North Korea’s missile testing “disappointing,” but he said he didn’t “regret trying to take the high road, if you will, and keep the door open for peace and diplomacy if we can move the ball forward,” CNN reported.
“South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are analyzing additional features,” the South Korean military said, Yonhap reported. “Our military is monitoring the situation in case of additional launches and maintaining a readiness posture.”
Military officials said the missile testing will not ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
“Our military expresses strong regret over the acts and urge North Korea to immediately stop such moves,” Maj. Gen. Jeon Dong-jin told Yonhap.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned the launches as a “serious challenge” to both Japan and the international community, even though the projectiles did not land inside Japanese territorial waters.
He said his government will “do its utmost” to protect the lives and assets of the Japanese people.
Abe called the projectiles “ballistic missiles.” Some experts have said that projectiles fired from the “super-large” multiple rocket launcher are virtually missiles or missile-class weapons.
According to Yonhap, Thursday’s launches would be the fourth time that North Korea used its super-large rocket launching system, which is presumed to be about 23 inches in diameter.
“The repeated tests are aimed at further improving the weapon before deploying it for operation,” Chang Young-keun, a missile expert at Korea Aerospace University, told the news agency. “North Korea appears to be advancing its system for successive firings, among other capabilities.”
Under the United Nations Security Council, the impoverished communist country is banned from test-firing ballistic missiles.
Earlier this month, a North Korean official said the United States must first drop its “hostile policy” in order to restart stalled denuclearization talks. “In that sense, I think a summit should not really be an issue of our interest,” the official said, Reuters reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
