North Korea fired two more missiles toward Japan on Thursday morning local time, international news agencies reported. According to Japanese and South Korean authorities, these are likely ballistic missiles that ended up in the sea outside Japan’s territorial waters.
It is North Korea’s sixth missile test in less than two weeks. One missile has traveled about 800 kilometers and the other about 350 kilometers, according to the Japanese Ministry of Defense.
Also read: North Korea fires ballistic missile over Japanese territory, residents run for cover
The new test came during a session of the UN Security Council in New York. In it, the American ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, accused Russia and China of blocking tougher sanctions against Kim Jong-un and North Korea. UN resolutions prohibit North Korea from testing ballistic missiles that can carry a nuclear warhead.
Rocket over Japan
On Tuesday, a North Korean missile flew over Japan for the first time in five years, prompting civilians to evacuate and take cover.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called it “an unacceptable threat to the Japanese people.” A day later, the US and South Korea also fired missiles into the area. One of the South Korean missiles crashed shortly after launch, causing a fire.
The North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the military exercises that South Korea and the US have been conducting recently, local time. According to North Korea, these “are causing an escalation of military tensions around the Korean peninsula”. The latest missile test was therefore “a retaliatory measure.”