US, South Korea launch 4 missiles into sea

The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea said that the United States and South Korea launched four missiles off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday morning.

The South Korean joint chiefs said the launch included four ATACMS missiles. The Army Tactical Missile Systems, also known as Army Tactical Missile Systems, is a surface-to-surface missile that can fly around 200 miles 320 kilometers. The test was the second exercise in under 24 hours after a provocative test-launch by neighboring North Korea, which fired a ballistic missile without warning over Japan in a significant escalation of its weapons testing program.

North Korea's missile launch travelled over northern Japan early in the morning and is believed to have landed in the Pacific Ocean. It was the 23rd missile launch this year in the isolated country.

Later that day, the US and South Korea conducted a precision bombing exercise that involved a South Korean F-15 K fighter jet firing two air-to-surface munitions at a virtual target in a firing range west of the Korean Peninsula, per the South Korean joint chiefs.

South Korea and the United States usually respond to missile tests by North Korea with military exercises.

The latest launch was designed to demonstrate that the US and their allies have the military capabilities ready to respond to the provocations of the North, John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, told CNN s Pamela Brown on the Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer. This isn't the first time we have done this in response to the provocations by the North to make sure we can demonstrate our own capabilities, Kirby said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hasn't shown an inclination to move in that direction, and he is moving in the opposite direction by continuing to conduct missile tests that are violations of security council resolutions, he said.