North Korea warns of turning Pacific into ‘firing range’

• North Korea fired two more ballistic missiles off its east coast on Monday, as the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un warned U.S. forces to halt military drills, saying the reclusive nuclear state could turn the Pacific into a “firing range”.
• The launches come just two days after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the sea off Japan’s west coast, prompting the United States to hold joint air exercises with South Korea and separately with Japan on 19 Feb.
• North Korea’s state media confirmed it fired two projectiles from a multiple rocket launcher, aiming at targets 395 km and 337 km away, respectively.
• Japan’s Defense Ministry said the two missiles, fired around 2200 GMT, reached a maximum altitude of about 100 km and 50 km, and fell outside Japan’s EEZ.
• Seoul’s foreign ministry announced sanctions on four individuals and five entities linked to Pyongyang’s weapons programmes on 20 Feb over the latest ICBM and missile tests, in what it called its fastest-ever such response to the North’s provocations.
• The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the latest launch did not pose an immediate threat but highlights the “destabilising impact” of North Korea’s unlawful weapons programmes.

External Link : https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/north-korea-fires-ballistic-missile-south-korea-military-2023-02-19/