North Korea missile test poses ‘threats to neighbors and beyond’: Pentagon
The us military said Sunday missile tests conducted by North Korea over the weekend posed ‘threats’ to the country’s neighbors and beyond.
This activity highlights DPRK’s continuing specialise in developing its military program and therefore the refore the threats that poses to its neighbors and the international community,” the US Indo-Pacific Command said during a statement, using the North’s official name.
North Korean state media reported on Monday morning civil time the country had test-fired a replacement “long-range cruise missile” on Saturday and Sunday, amid an extended standoff with the us over its nuclear program.
The missiles travelled 1,500-kilometer (about 930 miles) flight paths — including figure-of-8 patterns — above North Korea and its body of water to hit their targets, consistent with the official Korean Central press agency .
Its report called the missile a “strategic weapon of great significance,” adding the tests were successful and it gave the country “another effective deterrence means” against “hostile forces.”
The North is under international sanctions for its nuclear weapons and missile programs, which it says it must defend against a US invasion.
But Pyongyang isn’t banned from developing cruise missiles, which it’s tested previously.
The US Indo-Pacific Command statement said the us would “continue to watch things and are consulting closely with our allies and partners.”
It reiterated the United States’ “commitment to the defense” of the North’s neighbors South Korea and Japan “remains ironclad.”
Seoul and Washington are treaty allies, with around 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea to defend it against its neighbour, which invaded in 1950.
The reported launches are the primary since March by the North, which has not administered a nuclear test or an intercontinental missile launch since 2017.
