SEOUL: North Korea launched at least one short-range ballistic missile off its east coast Monday, South Korea's military said, a day after the North vowed "offensive and overwhelming" responses to a new US military drill with South Korea and Japan. "Monday's launch was the North's first weapons firing in five days.On Wednesday, North Korea launched what it called a multiwarhead missile in the first known launch of a developmental, advanced weapon meant to defeat US and South Korean missile defences. North Korea said the launch was successful, but South Korea dismissed the North's claim as deception to cover up a failed launch.In recent weeks, North Korea has also floated numerous trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea in what it has described as a tit-for-tat response to South Korean activists sending political leaflets via their own balloons. Observers say the pact could embolden Kim to launch more provocations at South Korea. On the meeting's second day, North Korea's leader spoke about "some deviations obstructing" efforts to improve the country's economic status and unspecified important tasks for resolving immediate policy issues, North Korea's state media reported Sunday.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 01, 2024 19:14 UTC