By HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea east of the country Monday in its second test launch in three days, prompting Japan to request an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council.
The launches continue a tit-for-tat exchange that began Saturday, and follow a year in which North Korea launched more than 70 missiles, the most ever. Pyongyang has recently escalated nuclear threats and threatened an “unprecedentedly” strong response to annual U.S.-South Korea military drills, which it views as preparation for an invasion.
South Korea’s military said it detected two missile launches Monday morning from a town on North Korea’s west coast, which were later confirmed by North Korean official media. Japan said both missiles landed in waters outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone and that no damage to aircraft or vessels in the area was reported, but they flew distances that suggest most of South Korea is in range.
The tests follow an intercontinental ballistic missile launch Saturday, the country’s first since Jan. 1, and a U.S. bomber flight over the Korean peninsula conducted in response Sunday.
Both South Korea and Japan condemned recent North Korean launches as threats to international peace and violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban any ballistic activities by North Korea. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that Tokyo was requesting an emergency Security Council meeting to respond to recent North Korean launches.
An initial Security Council briefing led by Assistant Secretary-General for political affairs Khaled Khiari was set for later Monday.
Further council action against North Korea is unlikely. China and Russia, both veto-wielding powers embroiled in confrontations with Washington, opposed U.S.-led attempts to add fresh sanctions last year.
“The frequency of using the Pacific as our firing range depends upon the U.S….
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