North Korea has test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles believed to be of the Scud variety into the East Sea on Sunday, South Korea’s military said.
“The missiles were fired from the northern part of the southern border city of Kaesong, about just 20 kilometres from the military demarcation line,” an official with the Joint Chiefs of Staff was quoted by Yonhap news agency.
“We estimate their ranges to be about 500 kilometres.” The official said it was “highly unusual” for the North to fire missiles from a place so near to the MDL, the report said.
It was the North’s sixth ballistic missile launch this year and second within five days, Yonhap said.
It quoted another military official saying Pyongyang may have chosen a site near the line to “flaunt its abilities to fire ballistic missiles at any time from anywhere.” Sunday’s launches followed the entry of a US aircraft carrier into a South Korean port last week for joint military exercises this month.