North Korea fired four anti-ship missiles into the sea east of the Korean Peninsula Thursday, according to US and South Korean military sources.
South Korea’s joint chiefs said the projectiles were believed to be surface-to-ship cruise missiles and were launched near the eastern port city of Wonsan.
The missiles flew about 200 kilometers (124 miles), South Korea’s military said in a statement, adding the US military was undertaking a more detailed analysis.
“Our military has strengthened surveillance and alertness readiness in cases of additional provocation by North Korean military and is maintaining all readiness posture while we are tracking and monitoring related situation,” the statement read.
The official tells CNN that the Pentagon is not expected to release the typical statement about tracking the launches because these were not ballistic missile capable of posing a long-range threat.
Analyst: Projectiles could take out carrier
Carl Schuster, a Hawaii Pacific University professor and former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, told CNN that this type of missile could, “if they got really lucky” immobilize a US aircraft carrier.
Cruise missiles typically fly in a straight line, just above ground level, while a ballistic missile flies miles into the air in an arch to reach its target, he said.
Schuster said North Koreans fire missiles usually for three reasons — international posturing, domestic propaganda and military training.
“If you really think you’re under threat you might want to do a test firing to be ready so think of it as both a political statement and a training demonstration,” he said.
North Korean state media has made no mention of the reported launches, but earlier on Thursday they warned Japan not to “gamble on its destiny.”
“If Japan is concerned about its security, it should not act (as) a poodle of the US but withdraw its hostile policy toward the DPRK and remove the US military bases for aggression (sic) from its territory,” the statement said.
Speaking at a doorstop interview, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida condemned North Korea’s latest missile launch. “These provocative actions are intolerable,” he said
Fourth missile test in a month
This is the fourth missile test since South Korean President Moon Jae-in took office in May.
The preceding test came at the end of May when North Korea fired what it claimed was a new type of ballistic missile. That projectile also was fired from Wosnan. Japanese and South Korean monitors said it flew 248 miles (400 kilometers) over the Sea of Japan, also know as the East Sea.
South Korea’s new government has suspended the deployment of a controversial US missile defense system that strained relations with China and angered North Korea.
Thursday’s launch is the first since the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed new sanctions last week.
The resolution slapped even more sanctions on North Korea and condemned the regime’s continued proliferation of its nuclear and ballistic program.
The sanctions extend a travel ban and asset freeze on high-level North Korean officials and state entities that deal with the program, according to the resolution.
China has called on Pyongyang to suspend its testing while calling on the US to stop military exercises on and near the Korean Peninsula, which North Korea sees as a threat to its sovereignty.