North Korea on Monday test fired as many as two rounds of short-range ballistic missiles, South Korean officials said.
The missiles were fired east from the Soonan airport area of Pyongyang, the office of South Korea’s Joint Chief of Staff said.
“Currently, South Korean military is surveilling related activities to the possible additional launch while maintaining readiness,” it said.
The launch follows North Korean tests on Jan 5, 11, and 14.
Experts believe the activity is reprisal for fresh sanctions imposed by the Biden administration for its continuing test launches.
During the week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for strengthening the country’s strategic military forces, state media reported. He was on-hand for a test of a hypersonic missile, it said.
The Japanese Defense Ministry said the latest launch was detected shortly after 9 a.m. Monday.
“Vessels are advised to pay attention to further information and, if they see a falling object, to stay away from it and report the relevant information to the Japan Coast Guard,” the country’s coast guard said in a statement.
Stella Kim and Victoria Di Gioacchino contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
