N Korea Fired 25 Short-Range Rockets Against U.S.-S Korea Joint Exercise South Korea has increased vigilance against additional provocations by North Korea in the wake of its rocket launches seen as a show of protest against ongoing joint military drills between Seoul and Washington, the defense ministry here said Monday according to Yonhap News. and this reports as the following: In the latest in a recent series of launches, Pyongyang fired 25 short-range rockets into waters off its east coast Sunday evening, which flew about 70 kilometers. The South Korean military judged the rockets to be FROG short-range surface-to-surface missiles, which the North introduced in the 1960s. The military is closely monitoring the (eastern) region, as North Korea could additionally launch (rockets), ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said in a briefing. Sundays rocket launch came two days after the Norths National Defense Commission threatened to demonstrate its nuclear deterrence capability against the U.S. hostility. Kim said the trajectory of Sundays rockets indicated the rockets are FROG missiles, adding the South Korean military had detected its moves ahead of the launch. North Korea fired off a larger-than-expected number of rockets yesterday, Kim said. The military is currently looking into its intention but currently considers (the rocket launch) as a provocative act in a show of force. Kim also condemned Pyongyangs firing of rockets without declaring a no-fly, no-sail zone, potentially endangering civilian vessels or flights in their trajectory. North Korea should stop raising military tension and provocations that cause concerns to the neighboring nations, Kim said. The spokesman added that the communist state was already ready to conduct a fourth nuclear test, though it has shown no imminent sign.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 06:36:22 +0000