Ironically and alarmingly, North Korea has fired off two ballistic missiles, with the second of which reportedly ‘burst in mid-air,’ inside North Korean territory. The launches occurred a day after Pyongyang threatened to retaliate with what it termed as “offensive and overpowering measures” in response to the military exercises Moscow deemed threatening involving the US, South Korea, and Japan.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the first shot reached about 370 miles (600 kilometers), while the second was estimated to have reached only 75 miles (120 kilometers) before probably failing. The military spokesperson said that in the second missile seemed to have failed, and if so, its debris would have fallen on the ground inside North Korea.
The last missile tests are the first time North Korea has fired missiles in five days and followed the end of the multi-domain “Freedom Edge,” a new tri-lateral military exercise. Such insertions remain an indispensable element of the military exercises that Pyongyang often portrays as preparations for an invasion or proof of the countries’ hostility.
”Pyongyang conceals its apprehension of looking vulnerable as Southern Korea rehearsals its defense with Japan and the US,” Easley, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said.
The increasing chemical activity and threats to perform more lethal actions have become a concern globally due to North Korea.
