TEMPO.CO, Seoul - North Korea fired what appeared to be several land - to - ship missiles off its east coast on Thursday, June 8, South Korean military said. The day before, the South postponed full deployment of a controversial U.S. anti-missile system designed to deter a North Korean attack.
The launches, the latest in a fast-paced series of missile tests by North Korea defying world pressure to rein in its weapons program, come less than a week after the United Nations Security Council passed fresh sanctions on the reclusive state.
South Korea on Wednesday said it will hold off on installing remaining components of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system that has angered North Korea's main ally, China, amid early signs of easing tensions between the two countries.
U.S. President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson discussed the Korean situation, including THAAD, at the White House on Thursday, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a news briefing.
North Korea missile launches showed that THAAD was "important to, not only to protect U.S. forces, to protect our alliance and to help to further strengthen the region," Nauert said.
"We are aware, certainly, of the situation and the suspension of additional launchers," she said. "We would continue to say that THAAD was an alliance decision at the time, and we continue to work closely with (South Korea) throughout their process."
Nauert called the latest North Korean missile launches "provocative."
The missiles were launched Thursday morning from the North Korean coastal city of Wonsan and flew about 200 km (124 miles), South Korea's Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Under third-generation leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea has been conducting missile tests at an unprecedented pace in an effort to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the mainland United States.
Compared to the different types of ballistic missiles Pyongyang has recently tested, the missiles launched on Thursday are considered to be more defensive in nature, designed to defend against threats such as enemy warships.
North Korea unveiled a number of new weapons at a massive military parade on April 15 to mark the birth anniversary of the state's founding leader and has since tested some of them.
"What appeared to be a new type of land-to-ship missile equipped with four launching canisters was unveiled at the parade," said Kim Dong-yub, a military expert at Kyungnam University’s Far Eastern Studies in Seoul. "I think this might be what was used today."
REUTERS
