JAKARTA - North Korea fired two more ballistic missiles off its east coast on Monday, as the leader's sister Kim Jong-un warned US troops to stop military exercises, saying they could turn the Pacific into a'shooting field'.
The launch comes 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 from Japan on Sunday.
North Korean state media confirmed the country fired two projectiles from several rocket launchers, targeting targets 395 km (245 miles) and 337 km (209 miles), respectively.
"The 600mm multipel rocket launch deployed in the shooting... was a tactical nuclear weapons facility capable of "strengthening" enemy airfields," state news agency KCNA said.
Japan's Ministry of Defense said the two missiles were fired at around 22.00 GMT, reaching a maximum altitude of about 100 km and 50 km, and crashed beyond Japan's EEZ.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he had requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council regarding the launch, and news agency Jiji said the meeting was scheduled for Monday at 20.00 GMT.
Meanwhile, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff strongly condemned the launch as a "serious provocation" that must be stopped immediately.
Seoul's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced sanctions against four individuals and five entities linked to Pyongyang's weapons program on Monday over the ICBM and the latest missile test, in the so-called fastest response to North Korea's provocation.
"Our government has made it clear that North Korea's provocation will definitely have a price. Its repeated provocations will strengthen South Korea-US prevention and tighten global sanction networks," the ministry said in a statement.
Separately, US Indo-Pacific Command said the latest launch did not pose a direct threat but highlighted the "destabilization impact" of North Korea's unlawful weapons program.
Meanwhile, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric urged Pyongyang to "soon stop taking further provocative measures" which were banned based on Security Council resolutions, and continue denuclearization dialogue.
The sister of North Korean leader Kim, Kim Yo-jong, warned against increasing the presence of US strategic military assets after joint air exercises with her Asian allies over the weekend.
"The frequency of using the Pacific as our shooting range relies on the character of US troop action," he said in a statement broadcast by KCNA.
On the occasion, Kim Yo-jong also criticized the assessment of some South Korean experts, who said the ICBM test took nine hours of preparation, saying launch time was completed after US and South Korean reconnaissance aircraft involved in air patrols left.
"We already have technology and satisfactory capabilities and, now will focus on increasing their power quantity," he said.
"We reiterate once again, that there is no change in our desire to make the worstAMps that increase tensions in paying for the price for their actions," he concluded.
It is known that the United States and South Korea will hold a simulation of a nuclear table exercise aimed at increasing operations of American nuclear assets this week, as well as spring annual Freedom Shield field training in March.
"voltage on the peninsula is likely to peak in the coming months as North Korea accelerates its military action at a higher frequency, and its statement suggests that it will resume impromptu missile tests using the Pacific as its firing ground," said Yang Moo-jinn, a professor at Seoul's North Korean University of Studies.
Park Won-gon, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said Monday's launch and missile statements were in line with North Korea's recent foreign ministry threat to take an unprecedented "unpredictive, strong" response to military exercises with allies.
"North Korea seems to be trying to strengthen its nuclear capabilities by raising issues about the drills," Park said.
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