Alghadeer TV Alghadeer TV
North Korea test-fired suspected artillery pieces into the sea on Sunday, according to the South Korean military, days after Kim Jong-un vowed to enhance the country’s military power in the face of foreign threats.
The South Korean military’s joint chiefs of staff in a statement claimed to have detected “several flight trajectories” believed to be artillery pieces fired by Pyongyang.
According to Press TV, the statement added that Seoul maintains a firm military readiness in close coordination with Washington amid increased surveillance on their common foe, North Korea.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), which normally reports on successful weapons tests after 24 hours, has not yet reacted to Seoul’s claims.
The country has conducted a series of sanctions-busting weapons tests this year, including firing an intercontinental ballistic missile at the full range for the first time since 2017.
The latest development came days after China and Russia censured the US for fueling tensions in the region, citing Pyongyang’s missile test in response to US-led military drills near its territorial waters.
Beijing and Moscow vetoed a US-led push at the UN last month to toughen sanctions against Pyongyang over its renewed ballistic missile launches.
South Korea’s presidential national security office held a meeting to discuss the artillery shots later on Sunday and reiterated the US-allied country’s position of “responding calmly and sternly” to what it termed Pyongyang’s provocations.
It added that Seoul did not immediately release its findings on the suspected artillery fire, as the shots were of a “traditional” type with relatively low altitude and short-range.
