North Korea fires two ballistic missiles after US submarine reaches South Korea, says Seoul

Seoul [South Korea]: A day after the inaugural session of the US-South Korea security dialogue, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Wednesday, Yonhap news agency reported citing Seoul’s military.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) South Korea said that the launches were detected from the Sunan area in Pyongyang between 3:30 am and 3:46 am (local time), and they flew some 550 kilometres before splashing into the sea. The JCS condemned the launches as “acts of significant provocation” that harms peace not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in the international community, and as a “clear” violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

“Our military will maintain a firm readiness posture based on capabilities to respond overwhelmingly to any North Korean provocations,” the Yonhap news agency quoted the JCS as saying in a text message sent to reporters.

Meanwhile, the missile launch came after South Korea and the United States held the inaugural meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) in Seoul the previous day to bolster the US’ extended deterrence commitment to using the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear weapons, to defend its ally.

The meeting coincided with the arrival of USS Kentucky at a key naval base in Busan, 320 kilometres southeast of Seoul, marking the first port visit by an American nuclear-capable strategic submarine (SSBN) since USS Robert E. Lee in March 1981.

Earlier on June 12, Pyongyang test-fired a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on July 12, Yonhap news agency reported.