North Korea Launches Ballistic Missiles toward Sea of Japan

Seoul, April 8 (Jiji Press)–North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan on Wednesday morning, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff. They were fired from around Wonsan in the eastern North Korean province of Kangwon and are believed to have flown around 240 kilometers. North Korea launched a projectile suspected to be a ballistic missile from the Pyongyang area only on Tuesday. As North Korean state media reported on Tuesday a statement by a senior diplomat of the reclusive state saying that South Korea remains an enemy state, the series of projectile launches is seen as aimed at demonstrating Pyongyang’s hostile stance toward Seoul. According to South Korean media, the projectile launched on Tuesday was fired toward the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula but disappeared shortly afterward. North Korea is believed to have failed in the missile firing. The South Korean military stressed that it is closely sharing ballistic missile-related information with the United States and maintaining a full alert posture in preparation for possible additional launches. Meanwhile, North Korean media has not reported the launches as of Wednesday morning. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]