North Korea fires 2 ballistic missiles into sea after US aircraft carrier's return

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North Korea fires 2 ballistic missiles into sea after US aircraft carrier's return

SEOUL: North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Thursday October 6 in the direction of Japan after the return of a US aircraft carrier to the region and a UN Security Council meeting in response to North Korea's recent launches.

The launch was the sixth in 12 days and the first since North Korea fired an intermediate-range missile IRBM over Japan on Tuesday, which prompted joint South Korean and US missile drills during which one weapon was sunk and burnt.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea and the Japanese government reported on the launch.

This is the sixth time in the short period, only counting the ones from the end of September, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters. This cannot be tolerated. The launch came after North Korea condemned the US for talking to the United Nations Security Council about Pyongyang's just counteraction measures of the Korean People's Army on south Korea-US joint drills, suggesting its missile tests were a response to the allied military moves.

In a statement released by the reclusive nation's foreign ministry, North Korea condemned Washington for repositioning a US aircraft carrier off the Korean peninsula, saying it posed a serious threat to the stability of the situation.

The USS Ronald Reagan and its group of accompanying warships were deployed abruptly in response to North Korea's IRBM launch over Japan.

The United States accused China and Russia of allowing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to block attempts to strengthen UN Security Council sanctions on Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who will speak to Kishida by phone on Thursday, told reporters that his country will ensure its security through its alliance with the United States and cooperation with Japan.

He said the US carrier had entered waters off South Korea late on Wednesday.

Yoon's national security council warned that North Korea would face a strong international response over the tests.

Tokyo lodged a vehement protest with North Korea over Thursday's launches through delegations in Beijing, Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said.

The first missile likely flew to an altitude of about 100 km and a range of 350 km, while the second had an estimated altitude of 50 km and covered 800 km, likely flying in an irregular trajectory, he said.

Many of North Korea's most recent short-range ballistic missiles SRBMs are designed to fly on a lower, depressed trajectory and potentially manoeuvre, complicating efforts to detect and intercept them.

Hamada told reporters that North Korea has escalated its provocation relentlessly since the beginning of this year.

South Korea's JCS said the missiles were launched from near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.