North Korea fired four banned ballistic missiles that flew 620 miles into the ocean off its eastern coast, South Korean officials said Monday, in an apparent reaction to huge military drills by Washington and Seoul that Pyongyang insists are an invasion rehearsal. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday's firing shows that North Korea has become "a new kind of threat." North Korea conducted 24 missile tests and two nuclear tests last year. The United States has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea, and 50,000 in Japan, as a deterrent against a potential aggression from the North. Another 3,600 U.S. soldiers arrived in South Korea earlier this month to take part in the annual drills.

Source: Fox News March 06, 2017 00:35 UTC