On Monday, North Korea fired two ballistic missiles off its east coast, according to South Korea’s military. This comes in response to the United States holding joint air exercises with South Korea and Japan on Sunday in response to North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, issued a statement warning against increased presence of U.S. strategic assets on the Korean peninsula. She added that the North has “satisfactory” missile technology and capability, and “now will focus on increasing the quantity of their force.” Monday’s launch is the North’s third major weapons test this year, and is an implicit challenge to President Donald Trump.
A man watches a TV news program showing photos published in North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper of North Korea’s “Pukguksong-2” missile launch at Seoul Railway station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 13, 2017. In an implicit challenge to President Donald Trump, North Korea fired a ballistic missile early Sunday in its first such test of the year. The letters read “Pukguksong-2 missile and advanced Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles.” (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)