S.Korea: DPRK fires 2 short-range projectiles off east coast

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Saturday fired off two short-range projectiles off its east coast, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

This early August 10, 2019 picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on August 11, 2019, shows the test-fire of a new weapon at an undisclosed location in North Korea. [File Photo: VCG]

The projectiles, presumed to have been short-range ballistic missiles, were launched at 6:45 a.m. and 7:02 a.m. each local time from the DPRK's eastern town of Sondok in South Hamgyong province into the East Sea.

They flew about 380 km at the highest altitude of some 97 km and a maximum speed of Mach 6.5 or higher.

The JCS said in a statement that the DPRK projectiles were under the precision analysis by the intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States, noting that the South Korean military was closely monitoring relevant situation and maintaining a firm readiness posture.

At the request of Japan, South Korea will share relevant intelligence on the DPRK projectiles with Japan because the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) remained effective, the JCS noted.

South Korea decided Thursday to terminate the GSOMIA, which was signed in November 2016 with Japan to share military intelligence on the DPRK's nuclear and missile programs.

The GSOMIA had been automatically renewed each year in August. As South Korea declined to renew it, the military intelligence-sharing pact will expire in November this year.

Saturday's projectile firings by the DPRK marked the seventh since July 25 and the ninth this year. It came after the end earlier this week of the joint annual military exercises between South Korea and the United States.

The DPRK had denounced the South Korea-U.S. military drills as a rehearsal for northward invasion.

Chung Eui-yong, top national security adviser for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, held an emergency meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) to check on overall security situations of the Korean Peninsula and the DPRK's projectile launches, according to the presidential Blue House.

The NSC standing committee members expressed strong concern about the DPRK's continued firings of short-range projectiles despite the end of the South Korea-U.S. command post computer-simulated exercises, which Pyongyang recently denounced.

The NSC urged Pyongyang to stop acts that escalate military tensions on the peninsula.

The standing committee members agreed to make diplomatic efforts with the international community to encourage the DPRK to rapidly come to the dialogue table between Pyongyang and Washington for the achievement of the peninsula's complete denuclearization.

The DPRK on Thursday criticized South Korea for its introduction of F-35A stealth fighter jets from the United States through a statement of the DPRK foreign ministry's spokesperson carried by official Korean Central News Agency.

The hostile military moves, including the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises and the build-up of armed forces in South Korea, were reducing the dynamics of dialogue for building a lasting and durable peace on the peninsula, the statement said.

The statement also noted that the United States recently test-fired the intermediate-range cruise missile and planned to deploy a large quantity of offensive military equipment such as F-35 stealth fighters and F-16V fighters in Japan and other surrounding areas of the Korean Peninsula.