North Korea launches more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles in response to US-South Korea drills

[Seoul Current Affairs] According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea launched more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of ​​Japan from the Pyongyang area on the 20th. Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who is visiting India, also told reporters that North Korea's ballistic missile is estimated to have fallen outside Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). According to the Ministry of Defense, it has a maximum altitude of about 90 km and a flight distance of about 320 km.

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North Korea launched ballistic missiles on the 6th and 12th of this month. It appears that this was in response to the large-scale joint military exercise between the United States and South Korea, ``Ulchi Freedom Shield,'' which began on the 17th.

Under US President Trump's instructions, US-South Korea military exercises have been shortened to the 21st and reduced in scale. Mr. Trump expressed his desire to meet with Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, but North Korea showered him with cold water. On the 19th, Kim Jong-un's sister, general affairs director of the ruling party, asserted, ``Just because the scale and duration of the drills has been reduced does not mean that the essence of military exercises, which are provocative and aggressive, has changed.''

Meanwhile, Koizumi emphasized, ``North Korea's series of actions threaten the peace and security of our country, the region, and the international community.'' The Japanese government protested to North Korea through diplomatic channels.