North Korea on Saturday staged another of its show-of-force ballistic missile launches — pictured is one launch during a test in December — that sent 10 missiles off its west coast, which traveled more than 200 miles and landed just outside the Japanese exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan. Photo by KCNA/EPA
March 14 (UPI) — North Korea launched 10 ballistic missiles into the sea on Saturday — which landed just outside Japan’s economic zone in the East Sea — in a show of force amid a U.S.-South Korea military exercise.
The launch, confirmed by the Japanese and South Korean defense ministries, is one of the largest North Korea shows of force that it has ever launched, The Japan Times and The Independent reported.
The missiles were launched from the west coast of North Korea, flying roughly 211 miles before falling just outside the Sea of Japan.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense in a statement called the launch a continued effort to “threaten the peace and security of Japan, the region and the international community.”
Shinjiro Koizumi, the Japanese defense minister, added that the ministry would remain in close contact with the United States and other allies “to remain fully vigilant and maintain surveillance in preparation for any unforeseen contingencies.”
The launch is the largest since at least November 2022, when Kim Jong Un’s regime launched a volley of 23 missiles that included short-range ballistic missiles and surface-to-air missiles, among others.
Analysts have said that it is unlikely that North Korea would attack U.S. or other nation’s assets in the region while the United States has diverted missile defense systems, among other things, to the Middle East amid the war in Iran.
They say, rather, that the show of force is meant to show that it can defend itself if it is invaded.
North Korea’s launch also comes as the United States and South Korea are about halfway through the annual 11-day Freedom Shield combined joint exercise that includes land, air and sea training events to allow the two nation’s armed forces to integrate seamlessly in combat.
One warship that was involved with the exercise, the USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship carrying 2,500 Marines and 2,500 sailors, has been redeployed to the Middle East to bolster U.S. military power there amid the war in Iran.
