The US and South Korean militaries launched eight ballistic missiles into the sea in a show of force in response to a North Korean missile launch yesterday. The launches were aimed at demonstrating the ability to respond quickly and accurately to North Korean attacks, the South Korean military said. The Southern Army found on Sunday that North Korea fired eight short-range missiles in 35 minutes from at least four different locations, including the western and eastern coastal areas and two inland areas to the north and near the capital, Pyongyang. It was North Korea’s 18th missile test in 2022 alone: among these, the country’s first ICBM launches in almost five years have also taken place in recent months.
South Korea will respond “firmly and severely” to any North Korean provocation: President Yoon Suk-yeol, commenting on the eight ballistic missiles launched today from Seoul together with the US in response to as many short-range carriers tested yesterday by Pyongyang, said that “even at this moment the nuclear and missile threats from the North are becoming sophisticated.” They have such a level “of threat not only to peace on the Korean peninsula but also in Northeast Asia and the world,” added Yoon, aiming to discourage “such threats even with a more fundamental and practical security capability.”