North Korea fires 4 short-range missiles into sea

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea test-fired 4 short-range missiles into the sea off its west coast Friday, April 3, in an operation supervised by leader Kim Jong-Un amid heightened military tensions, a South Korean military spokesman said.

The missiles were launched from a base on the west coast and flew more than 100 kilometers (60 miles), the spokesman for the South’s joint chiefs of staff told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“The missile test launch, which lasted 45 minutes from 4:15 pm (0715 GMT), appeared to have been supervised by Kim Jong-Un,” he said, adding that the exact model of the projectiles was not known.

The exercise came at a time of elevated tensions with North Korea’s condemnation of annual US-South Korea military drills that Pyongyang views as rehearsals for invasion.

One of the joint drills, Key Resolve, wound up last month, but the other, Foal Eagle, is set to continue until April 24.

The annual exercises always trigger a surge in military tensions between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war because the 1950-1953 Korean conflict ended with a ceasefire rather than a peace treaty.

North Korea signalled its displeasure when this year’s drills began in early March by firing two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast.

The nuclear-armed country also fired 7 ground-to-air missiles into the sea off its east coast on March 13.

UN resolutions ban any ballistic missile test by North Korea. — Rappler.com