According to the South Korean military, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Tuesday, possibly in response to ongoing US-South Korea military drills on the Korean Peninsula. The launches occurred within minutes of each other and were detected by South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff from the Jangyon area in South Hwanghae province. The latest launches came just two days after North Korea claimed to have test-fired two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine on Sunday. South Korea and the United States began their 11-day Freedom Shield exercise on Monday, which includes field exercises for the first time since 2017. North Korea regards such exercises as “a rehearsal for an invasion.” The United States would capitalize on its nuclear triad to defend South Korea against North Korea’s aggression, according to General Anthony Cotton, commander of the US Strategic Command. North Korea conducted a series of missile launches last year, all of which are banned under UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea’s missile program.
North Korea launches 2 missiles during US-South Korea drill.
