South Korea, US troops launch missiles in response to North Korea tests

The South Korean and the United States military fired four missiles into the sea in response to North Korea’s intermediate-range ballistic missile tests on Tuesday. “South Korean and American troops staged a missile drill of their own in response”, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

Both nations fired a pair of US-made ATACMS short-range ballistic missiles, he added. South Korea also fired a Hyunmoo-2 missile but the test failed right after the launch. This was the second test drill by both the countries in 24 hours after a joint exercise on the eastern coast of the Korean peninsula.

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John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, told CNN that the tests carried out by the US and the South Korean military on Wednesday was aimed at showing “the military capabilities at the ready to respond to provocations by the North.”

“This is not the first time we’ve done this in response to provocations by the North to make sure that we can demonstrate our own capabilities,” Kirby said.

“We want to see the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, (North Korean leader Kim Jong Un) hasn’t shown an inclination to move in that direction, quite frankly he’s moving in the opposite direction by continuing to conduct these missile tests which are violations of security council resolutions,” he added.

Earlier, North Korea decided to test a number of missiles without any prior warning.

It was Pyongyang's longest-range test yet as they flew over Japan prompting criticism and evacuation orders from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Kishida condemned North Korea's test in the "strongest terms” while the Union Nations and the European Union also followed suit.

(With inputs from agencies)