North Korea fires ‘several’ cruise missiles toward west coast: JCS
Seoul detects multiple projectiles hours after USS Kentucky reportedly departs Busan port
A nighttime cruise missile launch earlier this year | Image: Rodong Sinmun (Feb. 24, 2023)
This is a developing story, please check back for further updates. (Last updated July 22 at 9:12 a.m. KST with JCS confirmation and additional context)
North Korea fired “several” cruise missiles toward the Yellow Sea in the early morning on Saturday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), hours after a U.S. nuclear submarine reportedly left the peninsula.
South Korea detected the missiles around 4 a.m. KST, the JCS stated. South Korean and U.S. authorities are analyzing the projectiles and will likely release further information, such as flight time and distance, later on Saturday.
The test event comes shortly after the USS Kentucky reportedly left South Korea after a three-day visit, part of what the Yoon Suk-yeol administration said will be “constant” deployments of U.S. strategic assets to the region to counter North Korean threats.
In response to the U.S. nuclear submarine’s visit, Pyongyang on Thursday warned Washington that deployments of nuclear assets to South Korea “could meet conditions” for the DPRK to carry out a preemptive strike in the future.
North Korea’s last known cruise missile test occurred in March as part of an “underwater launching drill,” though neither Seoul nor Pyongyang announce every cruise missile test when or after it occurs.
The Rodong Sinmun said the DPRK military launched the March cruise missiles from a submarine in a first-of-its-kind test meant to demonstrate “diverse” methods to strike the U.S. and South Korea with nuclear weapons.
South Korea maintains“a full readiness posture,” and will continue to monitor for more “signs of North Korean activities,” according to JCS on Saturday.
Source:nknews.org/