North Korea has test-launched 16 additional Frog short-range rockets into the sea off the east coast of the Korean peninsula on the second consecutive day, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff (JCS) have announced.
The test-firing represents the latest in a series of provocative launches conducted by Pyongyang in an apparent protest of ongoing joint military exercises between South Korea and the US, Yonhap News Agency reports.
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North Korea had also test-fired 30 same Russian-made ground-to-ground projectiles from the same location on 22 March, without notifying civilian flights or vessels in the vicinity.
The JCS said in a statement: "The military has maintained vigilance against additional launches."
Meanwhile, South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok was quoted by Agence France Presse as saying that North Korea should stop actions that cause military tension.
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"Provocative action made without any prior notifications… can pose significant danger to sea vessels and aircraft passing by the area," Min-Seok said.
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By GlobalDataBoth South Korea and the US have criticised the missile launches, which North Korea claim to be for ‘self-defence’ defence.
A series of Scud ballistic missiles and artillery have been test-fired by the communist-state using multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) from its east coast since late February, in response to the annual Seoul-US war games.
Scheduled to run until mid-April, the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises have been routinely criticised and called a ‘prelude for an invasion’, by Pyongyang, despite the US’s insistence that they are aimed at enhancing the alliance’s operational readiness.
