North Korea has launched ballistic missiles for the fourth time in a week as it ramps up tensions.
The test on Saturday comes after South Korea, the United States and Japan staged anti-submarine naval exercises for the first time in five years.
US vice president Kamala Harris has also been in Seoul, South Korea, touring the demilitarised zone.
South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol responded by saying North Korea’s ‘obsession’ with nuclear weapons is deepening the suffering of its own people.
He went on to add there would be an ‘overwhelming’ response from both South Korea and the US if North Korea ever used nuclear weapons.
According to South Korea and Japan’s military intelligence, North Korea’s missiles flew between 220 and 250 miles at a maximum altitude of 20-30 miles before they landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
Japan’s vice defence minister, Toshiro Ino, said the missiles showed ‘irregular’ trajectory, which means they are capable of manoeuvring in flight, making them harder to track and intercept.
The ‘irregular’ trajectory is similar to how Russia’s Iskander missile operate.
The joint chiefs of staff of South Korea said in a statement: ‘The repeated ballistic missile firings by North Korea are a grave provocation that undermines peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, and in the international community.’
Before Kamala Harris’ visit to South Korea, Washington sent the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier to South Korea to conduct a large-scale joint naval exercise.
Cross-border talks have long since stalled and any hopes of diplomacy with the West are remote.
In a speech to the Supreme People’s Assembly on September 9, North Korean dictator said a policy of striking first with weapons of mass destruction is ‘irreversible’.
He made the comments while enshrining the hermit nation’s aggressive military stance into law.
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