Response to North Korea, South Korea drops 8 Bombs Near Border
30 August 2017 13:04 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Four South Korean F-15 fighter jets have dropped at least 8 bombs near its border with North Korea in response to Pyongyang's latest missile tests that have crossed Japan's spacecraft.
The power show-ordered by South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, involved four F-15 fighter jets by dropping the versatile MK84 bomb.
The MK-84 multi-purpose bomb, is a 2,000-tonne ammunition that can penetrate as deep as 11 meters into the ground and 11 feet in concrete. South Korea says that all 8 targets are in the territory of the country itself.
Moon through his spokesman, Yoon Young-chan, said the bombing maneuvers were carried out in a shootout drill near the Korean border at Taebaek.
According to Young-chan, bombing exercises were ordered immediately after a National Security Council meeting to discuss possible counter action by Seoul against Pyongyang's ballistic missile provocation.
Read: North Korea Fires Missiles over Japan
"We consider North Korea's provocation to be very severe and decided to maintain a vigilant posture in preparation for possible additional provocations by North Korea," the National Security Council (NSC) said.
Shortly after the NSC meeting, South Korean National Security Director Chung Eui-yong contacted Donald Trump's National Security Advisor, HR McMaster to discuss the incident.
"President Donald Trump has fully supported Moon's policy towards North Korea and the South Korean government's response to North Korean provocations," Eui-yong quoted McMaster as saying.
The missile fired by Pyongyang declared South Korea as a medium-range ballistic missile. The missile passed through the Hokkaido airspace before it fell in Japanese waters in the Pacific Ocean.
The action has been criticized by Tokyo as an unprecedented, serious threat to the region.
"We will do our best to protect people's lives," said Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, as reported by the Independent.
The launch is the first to be reported from Sunan, which is the location of Pyongyang's international airport. Encouraging speculation that North Korea has fired a missile from an airport runway.
Runway runways can provide ideal spaces for launching missiles such as Hwasong-12, also indicating that North Korea can launch missiles from anywhere.
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