{"id":12012,"date":"2020-03-08T23:41:30","date_gmt":"2020-03-08T23:41:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/03\/08\/north-korea-fires-3-unidentified-projectiles-says-south-koreas-military\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:23:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:23:51","slug":"north-korea-fires-3-unidentified-projectiles-says-south-koreas-military","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2020\/03\/08\/north-korea-fires-3-unidentified-projectiles-says-south-koreas-military\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korea fires weapons after threatening \u2018momentous\u2019 action"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SEOUL, South Korea \u2014 North Korea fired three short-range projectiles off its east coast on Monday, South Korea\u2019s military said, two days after the North threatened to take \u201cmomentous\u201d action to protest outside condemnation over its earlier live-fire exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seoul\u2019s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the multiple kinds of projectiles fired from the eastern coastal town of Sondok flew as far as 200 kilometers (125 miles) at a maximum altitude of 50 kilometers (30 miles) before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A JCS statement said South Korea expressed \u201cstrong regret\u201d over the launches that it said violate a past inter-Korean agreement aimed at lowering military animosities. South Korea\u2019s national security director, defense minister and spy chief held an emergency video conference and agreed the North Korean action were not helpful to efforts to establish a peace on the Korean Peninsula, according to South Korea\u2019s presidential Blue House. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japan\u2019s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said North Korea fired suspected ballistic missiles. He said the multiple North Korean projectiles traveled 100 to 200 kilometers (62 to 125 miles) but none landed inside Japan\u2019s exclusive economic zone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNorth Korea\u2019s latest action, on top of its repeated firings of ballistic missiles, is a serious threat to the peace and safety of Japan and … a grave problem for the entire international society,\u201d Suga said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past 10 days, North Korea has said leader Kim Jong Un supervised two rounds of live-fire artillery exercises in its first weapons tests since late November<\/a>. Kim had entered the new year with a vow to bolster his nuclear deterrent and not to be bound by a major weapons test moratorium amid a deadlock in a U.S.-led diplomacy aimed at convincing Kim to abandon his nuclear program in return for economic and political benefits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Korea and some European countries protested against the second North Korea drills on March 2, which they believe involved ballistic missile launches in a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

North Korea insists it has the right to conduct military drills in the face of U.S. and South Korean forces on its doorstep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.N. Security Council didn\u2019t issue any statement after discussing North Korea\u2019s March 2 drills, but five European members condemned what they called \u201cprovocative actions.\u201d Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom said afterward that the tests undermine regional and international peace, security and stability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The North\u2019s Foreign Ministry on Saturday accused the five European countries of \u201crepeating an absurd argument of condemnation and violation resolutions of the U.N. whenever we conducted military drills.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe reckless behavior of these countries instigated by the U.S. will become a fuse that will trigger our yet another momentous reaction,\u201d a ministry statement said. <\/p>\n\n\n\t