North Korea has fired projectiles into the sea off its east coast

NORTH Korea has fired several unidentified
projectiles into the sea in what appears to be the
latest weapons tests for the country that has been
rapidly expanding its nuclear weapons and missile
program.
Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectiles were
fired from an area from the North’s eastern coast and
flew about 250 kilometers into the Sea of Japan.
The “unidentified projectiles” were fired in rapid
succession, at 06:49am, 7.07am and 7.19am local
time (7.49am, 8.07am and 8.19am AEST).
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The US military identified the projectiles as short-range
ballistic missiles, with two of them failing in flight and
the third blowing up “almost immediately.”
A spokesman for US Pacific Command said none of
the missiles, which it said were launched near
Kittaeryong, had posed a threat to either North
America or the US Pacific territory of Guam.
“The first and third missiles... failed in flight. The
second missile launch... appears to have blown up
almost immediately,” said the spokesman, Commander
Dave Benham, adding that the launches happened over
a span of 30 minutes.
The North’s move was immediately reported to
President Moon Jae-in.
“The military is keeping a tight surveillance over the
North to cope with further provocations”, the ministry
added.
The North tends to test-fire balistic missiles or other
projectiles - including those from long-range multiple
rocket launchers - in response to US-South Korea joint
military exercises.
Tens of thousands of South Korean and US troops are
taking part in the “Ulchi Freedom Guardian” joint
military drills, a largely computer-simulated exercise
that runs for two weeks in the South.
South Korea’s presidential office said the joint war
games would proceed “even more thoroughly” in
response to the latest launch.
The north's latest provocative moves comes as US
President Donald Trump is focused on Category Four
Hurricane Harvey , which is expected to bring
widespread flooding and damage to Texas.
They are the first known missile firings since July,
when the North successfully flight tested a pair of
intercontinental ballistic missiles that analysts say
could reach deep into the U.S. mainland when
perfected. The White House said that President Donald
Trump - who has warned that he would unleash “fire
and fury” if the North continued its threats - was
briefed on the latest North Korean activity and “we are
monitoring the situation.”
The rival Koreas recently saw their always testy
relationship get worse after Trump traded warlike
threats.
North Korea had walked back from the threat to lob
missiles toward Guam, but there had been concerns
that hostility will flare up again during the Ulchi-
Freedom Guardian drills between the allies that run
through Aug. 31.
However, some experts say North Korea is now mainly
focused on the bigger picture of testing its bargaining
power against the United States with its new long-
range missiles and likely has no interest in letting
things get too tense during the drills. They say the
North may limit its reactions to low-level provocations
like artillery and short-range missile launches. Early
assessments from the U.S. and South Korean
militaries suggest that the North Korean launches
could be short-range Scud-B or solid-fuel KN-02
missiles, said Kim Dong-yub, a former South Korean
military official who is now an analyst at Seoul’s
Institute for Far Eastern Studies.
While the missile that supposedly blew up immediately
after launch was clearly a failure, Kim said it’s too
early to judge the flights of the other two missiles,
since the North could have been experimenting with
developmental technologies or deliberately detonated
the warheads at certain heights and locations.
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This undated photo released by North Korea's official
Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on August 26,
shows leader Kim Jong-Un (C) presiding over a target
strike exercise. Picture: AFP/KCNA via
KNS Source: AFP
South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Picture: Jung
Yeon-Je-Pool/Getty Images Source: Getty Images
This undated photo released by North Korea's official
Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on August 26,
shows special operation forces personnel of the
Korean People's Army (KPA) conducting a target strike
exercise. Picture: AFP/KCNA via KNS Source: AFP
This undated photo released by North Korea's official
Korean Central News Agency shows soldiers engaged
in army drills. Picture: AFP/ KCNA via KNS Source: AFP
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

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