◀ anchor ▶
Yesterday afternoon, North Korean bombers and fighter jets approached the armistice line and made a demonstration flight, and earlier in the morning they fired short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea.
The US aircraft carrier, which had left after North Korea’s provocation of a medium-range ballistic missile three days ago, returned to the Korean Peninsula, which is interpreted as a reaction against this.
This is reporter Jeong Hye-in.
◀ Report ▶
Yesterday around 2 PM, four North Korean bombers and eight fighters flew a protest south of the Special Observation Line.
The special surveillance line is a line established by the South Korean army to take into account the high speed of the fighters, and it is located tens of kilometers north of the armistice line.
The South Korean military said it immediately responded by mobilizing about 30 fighters, including F-15Ks.
Afterward, North Korean fighter squadrons flew from the Goksan area of Hwanghae Province to Hwangju, appearing to have conducted air-to-ground shooting training for an hour.
North Korea’s military display flight and air-to-ground firing drills are highly unusual, and it is known that this is actually the first time that a squadron of more than 10 fighters has been mobilized at once.
North Korea also fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea from the Samseok area of Pyongyang at around 6 am yesterday.
The first missile flew 350 kilometers to an altitude of 80 kilometers, and the following missile flew 800 kilometers to an altitude of 60 kilometers and was detected by the military authorities.
It is estimated that after launching a medium-range ballistic missile across the Japanese archipelago three days ago, this time it fired a mix of different short-range missiles.
[홍민/통일연구원 북한연구실장]
“(North Korea) is now what’s called mixed firing, ‘Anytime, anywhere, anywhere’, this is what it is. That’s why it’s difficult for us to react now…”
North Korea has made it clear that this short-range ballistic missile launch is a protest against the re-entry of a US nuclear aircraft carrier into the waters of the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea’s foreign ministry said in an official statement, “We are monitoring the fact that the United States is creating a threat to the stability of the situation by bringing in aircraft carriers again.”
This is Hyein Jeong from MBC News.
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