A view of a missile launcher as North Korea conducts what it says is a drill to launch a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile at an unknown location. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) condemned North Korea’s firing of at least one ballistic missile northeastward from an area near the capital Pyongyang early Thursday (October 31, 2024), which reportedly landed outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zones.

In a statement issued, MOFA reiterated its serious concerns and strongly condemned North Korea’s “wanton actions” for undermining regional peace and stability.

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Taiwan will continue to work with like-minded countries to jointly safeguard freedom, openness, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the statement.

Japan’s Defence Ministry said that North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile in the northeast direction from the interior of North Korea at 6:11 a.m. (Taiwan time) Thursday.

According to Japanese media reports, the missile had a flight time of 1 hour and 26 minutes and landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

Seoul:

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended the test of an upgraded 240 mm rocket launcher system, state media said on Wednesday.

The system “proved its superiority in mobility and strike concentration” during the inspection testing, state news agency KCNA said.

Earlier this week, Kim Jong Un oversaw tests of new “suicide drones,” watching them take off and destroy test targets including a mock tank, and urged researchers to develop artificial intelligence for the unmanned vehicles.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

This file photo provided by the North Korean government shows what it says is an intercontinental ballistic missile in a launching drill at the Sunan international airport in Pyongyang, North Korea
| Photo Credit: AP

North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on August 30, South Korea’s military said, hours after the U.S. flew at least one long-range bomber to the Korean Peninsula in a show of force against the North.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the missiles were launched late Wednesday evening from North Korea’s capital region.

It said South Korea’s military boosted its surveillance posture and maintained its readiness in close coordination with the United States.

Japan’s Defense Ministry also announced that North Korea fired at least one suspected ballistic missile.

Earlier Wednesday, the United States flew a B-1B bomber to the Korean Peninsula as part of field exercises with South Korea. The field training is being held on the sidelines of an ongoing annual U.S.-South Korean computer-simulated command post exercise called “Ulchi Freedom Shield” that began Aug. 21.

North Korea views U.S.-South Korean military drills as an invasion rehearsal.

North Korea is sensitive to the deployment of U.S. B-1B bombers, which are capable of carrying a large payload of conventional weapons.

Wednesday’s B-1B deployment is the 10th flyover by U.S. bombers on the Korean Peninsula this year.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said the bomber took part in aerial drills with other U.S. and South Korean warplanes in waters off the Korean Peninsula’s west coast. It said the drills demonstrated the countries’ combined defense posture and the U.S. commitment to the defense of South Korea.

North Korea’s state media said Tuesday that leader Kim Jong Un called for the military to be constantly ready for combat to thwart plans by its rivals to invade. Also Tuesday, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan mobilized naval destroyers for a trilateral missile defense exercise off South Korea’s southern Jeju island.

Kim said in a speech marking the country’s Navy Day on Monday that the waters off the Korean Peninsula have been made unstable “with the danger of a nuclear war” because of U.S.-led hostilities, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

Since the beginning of 2022, North Korea has carried out more than 100 weapons tests, many of them involving nuclear-capable missiles designed to strike the U.S., South Korea and Japan. Many experts say North Korea ultimately wants to use its increased military capabilities to wrest greater concessions from the U.S.

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Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.