By HYUNG-JIN KIM (Associated Press)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Air raid sirens sounded on a South Korean island and residents evacuated to underground shelters after North Korea fired greater than 20 missiles Wednesday, at the very least considered one of them in its path and touchdown close to the rivals’ tense sea border. South Korea rapidly responded by launching its personal missiles in the identical border space.
The launches got here hours after North Korea threatened to make use of nuclear weapons to get the U.S. and South Korea to “pay the most horrible price in history” in protest of ongoing South Korean-U.S. navy drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. The White House maintained that the United States has no hostile intent towards North Korea and vowed to work with allies to curb North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
The North’s barrage of missile checks additionally got here as world consideration was centered on South Korea following a weekend Halloween tragedy that noticed greater than 150 individuals killed in a crowd surge in Seoul in what was the nation’s largest catastrophe in years.
South Korea’s navy mentioned North Korea launched at the very least 23 missiles — 17 within the morning and 6 within the afternoon — off its its japanese and western coasts on Wednesday. It mentioned the weapons have been all short-range ballistic missiles or suspected surface-to-air missiles. Also Wednesday, North Korea fired about 100 artillery shells into an japanese maritime buffer zone the Koreas created in 2018 to scale back tensions, in keeping with South Korea’s navy.
The 23 missiles launched is a document variety of every day missile checks by North Korea, some consultants say.
One of the ballistic missiles was flying towards South Korea’s Ulleung island earlier than it will definitely landed 167 kilometers (104 miles) northwest of the island. South Korea’s navy issued an air raid alert on the island, in keeping with the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. South Korean media revealed pictures of island residents shifting to underground shelters.
Hours later, South Korea’s navy mentioned it lifted the air raid alert on the island. South Korea’s transport ministry mentioned it has closed some air routes above the nation’s japanese waters till Thursday morning within the wake of the North Korean launches.
That missile landed 26 kilometers (16 miles) away from the rivals’ sea border. It landed in worldwide waters off the east coast of South Korea. South Korea’s navy mentioned it was the primary time a North Korean missile has landed so near the ocean border for the reason that nations’ division in 1948.
“This is very unprecedented and we will never tolerate it,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff mentioned in an announcement.
In 2010, North Korea shelled a front-line South Korean island off the peninsula’s western coast, killing 4 individuals. But the weapons used have been artillery rockets, not ballistic missiles whose launches or checks are banned by a number of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Later Wednesday, South Korean fighter jets launched three air-to-surface, precision-guided missiles close to the japanese sea border to point out its dedication to get robust on North Korean provocations. South Korea’s navy mentioned the missiles landed in worldwide waters on the identical distance of 26 kilometers (16 miles) north of the ocean border because the North Korean missile fell earlier Wednesday.
It mentioned it maintains a readiness to win “an overwhelming victory” towards North Korea in potential clashes.
“North Korea firing missiles in a way that sets off air raid sirens appears intended to threaten South Koreans to pressure their government to change policy,” mentioned Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. “North Korea’s expanding military capabilities and tests are worrisome, but offering concessions about alliance cooperation or nuclear recognition would make matters worse.”
The Joint Chiefs of Staff earlier recognized three of the North Korean weapons launched as “short-range ballistic missiles” fired from the North’s japanese coastal city of Wonsan, together with the one which landed close to the ocean border.
North Korean short-range weapons are designed to strike key services in South Korea, together with U.S. navy bases there.
In an emergency assembly with high safety officers, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered officers to take swift unspecified steps to make North Korea face penalties for its provocation. He mentioned he would take into account the North Korean missile’s touchdown close to the border “a virtual violation of (our) territorial waters.”
During the assembly, officers additionally lamented that the North Korean missile launches got here as South Korea is in a mourning interval over the group crush. They famous this “clearly showed the nature of the North Korean government,” in keeping with South Korea’s presidential workplace.
Earlier Wednesday, Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada mentioned at the very least two ballistic missiles fired by North Korea confirmed a presumably “irregular” trajectory. This suggests the missiles have been the North’s extremely maneuverable, nuclear-capable KN-23 missile, which was modeled on Russia’s Iskander missile.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida referred to as North Korea’s persevering with missile checks “absolutely impermissible.”
Analyst Cheong Seong-Chang on the non-public Sejong Institute in South Korea mentioned the hazard of armed clashes between the Koreas off their western or japanese coasts is rising. He mentioned South Korea must make “proportional responses” to North Korean provocations, not “overwhelming responses,” to stop tensions from spiraling uncontrolled and presumably main the North to make use of its tactical nuclear weapons.
Animosities on the Korean Peninsula have been operating excessive in current months, with North Korea testing a string of nuclear-capable missiles and adopting a legislation authorizing the preemptive use of its nuclear weapons in a broad vary of conditions. Some consultants nonetheless doubt North Korea would use nuclear weapons first within the face of U.S. and South Korean forces.
North Korea has argued its current weapons checks have been meant to challenge a warning to Washington and Seoul over their joint navy drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal, together with this week’s workouts.
In an announcement launched early Wednesday, Pak Jong Chon, a secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party who is taken into account a detailed confidant of chief Kim Jong Un, referred to as the Vigilant Storm air power drills “aggressive and provocative.”
“If the U.S. and South Korea attempt to use armed forces against (North Korea) without any fear, the special means of the (North’s) armed forces will carry out their strategic mission without delay,” Pak mentioned, in an obvious reference to his nation’s nuclear weapons.
“The U.S. and South Korea will have to face a terrible case and pay the most horrible price in history,” he mentioned.
U.S. and South Korean officers have steadfastly mentioned their drills are defensive in nature and that they don’t have any intentions of attacking North Korea.
“We reject the notion that they serve as any sort of provocation. We have made clear that we have no hostile intent towards (North Korea) and call on them to engage in serious and sustained diplomacy,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson mentioned late Tuesday.
North Korea “continues to not respond. At the same time, we will continue to work closely with our allies and partners to limit the North’s ability to advance its unlawful weapons programs and threaten regional stability,” Watson mentioned.
This yr’s Vigilant Storm navy workouts are the largest-ever for the annual fall maneuvers, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command mentioned. About 1,600 flights are deliberate involving 240 U.S. and South Korean fighter jets. The round the clock drills, which started Oct. 31, are to proceed via Nov. 4 and embrace warfighting techniques each within the air and on the bottom, it mentioned.
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Associated Press writers Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Aamer Madhani in Washington, D.C. contributed to this report.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”