North Korea fired ballistic missile towards sea: Seoul's military

North Korea launched a shortrange ballistic missile on Thursday toward its eastern waters South Koreas military said hours after the North threatened to launch fiercer military responses to the US bolstering its security commitment to its allies South Korea and JapanSouth Koreas military detected the launch from the Norths eastern coastal Wonsan area at 1048 am the Souths Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statementIt said South Korea has boosted its surveillance of North Korea while maintaining a military readiness and a close coordination with the United StatesIt was North Koreas first ballistic missile firing in eight days and the latest in its barrage of tests in recent monthsNorth Korea previously said some of the tests were simulations of nuclear attacks on South Korean and US targetsMany experts say North Korea would eventually want to enhance its nuclear capability to wrest bigger concessions from its rivalsEarlier on Thursday North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned that a recent USSouth KoreaJapan summit accord on the North would leave tensions on the Korean Peninsula more unpredictableChoes statement was North Koreas first official response to US President Joe Bidens trilateral summit with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts on the sidelines of a regional gathering Sunday in CambodiaAlso Read North Korea says launches were simulated attack on South the USIn their joint statement the three leaders strongly condemned North Koreas recent missile tests and agreed to work together to strengthen deterrence while Biden reaffirmed the US commitment to defend South Korea and Japan with a full range of capabilities including its nuclear armsThe keener the US is on the bolstered offer of extended deterrence to its allies and the more they intensify provocative and bluffing military activities on the Korean Peninsula and in the region the fiercer North Koreas military counteraction will be in direct proportion to it Choe said It will pose a more serious realistic and inevitable threat to the US and its vassal forcesChoe didnt say what steps North Korea could take but said that the US will be well aware that it is gambling for which it will certainly regretSouth Koreas Defence Ministry responded later on Thursday that the purpose of the trilateral summit was to coordinate a joint response to curb and deter advancing nuclear and missile threats by North KoreaSpokesperson Moon Hong Sik told reporters that security cooperation among Seoul Washington and Tokyo was contributing to solidifying a US extended deterrence to its alliesNorth Korea has steadfastly maintained its recent weapons testing activities are legitimate military counteractions to USSouth Korean military drills which it views as a practice to launch attacks on the North Washington and Seoul have said their exercises are defensive in natureIn recent months South Korean and US troops have expanded their regular exercises and resumed trilateral training with Japan in response to North Koreas push to enlarge its nuclear and missile arsenalsThose drills involved a US aircraft carrier and US B1B supersonic bombers for the first time since 2017In the past several years annual military training between Seoul and Washington had been scaled back or cancelled to support nowdormant diplomacy with North Korea and guard against the Covid19 pandemicIn her Thursday statement Choe said the US and its followers staged largescale war drills for aggression one after another but they failed to contain North Koreas overwhelming counteractionThere have been concerns that North Korea might conduct its first nuclear test in five years as its next major step toward bolstering its military capability against the United States and its alliesUS and South Korean officials say North Korea has finished preparations to conduct a nuclear test explosion in its remote testing facility in the northeastSome experts say the test if made would be meant to develop nuclear warheads to be placed on shortrange missiles capable of hitting key targets in South Korea such as US military basesThey say North Korea would ultimately aim to use its boosted arsenal as a leverage to pressure the United States into making concessions in future negotiations and recognise it as a nuclear stateThursdays launch came a day after members the Group of 20 leading economies ended their summit in IndonesiaThe summit was largely overshadowed with other issues like Russias war on Ukraine But Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol used their bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping to raise the issue of North KoreaThe two had a trilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and discussed North Korea before coming to Indonesia for the G20 summitIn their respective bilateral talks with Xi Biden noted all members of the international community have an interest in encouraging North Korea to act responsibly while Yoon called for China to play a more active constructive role in addressing the North Korean nuclear threatsChina the Norths last major ally and biggest source of aid is suspected of avoiding fully enforcing United Nations sanctions on North Korea and shipping clandestine assistance to the North to help its impoverished neighbour stay afloat and continue to serve as a bulwark against US influences on the Korean PeninsulaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever