South Korea responds to North’s launches with its own missiles | Abroad

South Korean Air Force aircraft launched precision-guided missiles into the Sea of ​​Japan, north of the so-called Northern Limit Line (NLL) at a distance similar to the area where the North Korean missile landed. NLL is the de facto maritime boundary between North and South Korea.

The military said in a statement that South Korea would “respond strongly to any provocation.” South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol described the North Korean move as a “de facto territorial invasion”, even though the missile did not land in South Korea’s territorial waters.

Earlier today, North Korea launched at least three ballistic missiles into the Sea of ​​Japan. One of these three missiles fell into the sea 16 miles south of the Northern Limit Line, which South Korea says happened “for the first time”. South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency said the missile flew towards Ulleungdo Island in eastern South Korea and landed in an area 57 kilometers east of Sokcho, under the supervision of the South Korean General Staff.

In total, the South Korean military said, Pyongyang fired about 10 missiles of various types.

According to the Japanese government, quoted by Kyodo News Agency, there were no reports of damage to aircraft and ships, and North Korean missiles moved sporadically.

Pyongyang said the North’s launches earlier this week were another response to large-scale military exercises by the United States and South Korea in the region. The North Koreans described the exercises conducted since Monday as “military recklessness and provocations that can no longer be tolerated.”

UN resolutions prohibit North Korea from conducting ballistic missile tests at any distance. Some of these missiles can carry nuclear warheads.