SEOUL, Dec. 23 (UPI) — North Korea launched a pair of short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Friday afternoon, South Korean defense officials said, the latest in a series of weapons tests by Pyongyang as tensions on the peninsula remain elevated.
The South Korean military detected two missiles fired from Sunan international airfield in Pyongyang at around 4:30 p.m., Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a text message to reporters. No further details were immediately given.
The office of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also reported that it had detected the launch in a tweet.
The launch comes less than a week after North Korea fired a pair of medium-range ballistic missiles, which it later claimed was a test for a reconnaissance satellite. The North has previously used satellite launches as cover for tests related to its banned intercontinental ballistic missile program.
On Tuesday, the United States and South Korea responded with joint air drills involving nuclear-capable B-52 bombers and F-22 stealth fighters. According to Seoul’s defense ministry, the exercises were meant to demonstrate the United States’ “extended deterrence” commitment to use all capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its ally.
Pyongyang has conducted a record-number of weapons tests this year, including launches of ICBMs that experts believe are capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. Officials in Seoul and Washington have assessed that the North has completed preparations for a nuclear weapon test, which would be its seventh overall and first since 2017.
