The United States and South Korea launched eight ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan on Sunday (Monday in Korea), in response to North Korea's missile fire the day before, various news agencies reported.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the drill was intended to demonstrate the ability to respond quickly and accurately to North Korean attacks, the AP reported.
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According to the EFE agency, the surface-to-air missiles of the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) were fired by the United States and South Korea in a period of 10 minutes.
On Sunday, North Korea had fired eight missiles, a daily record number for the Pyongyang regime, which this year has already carried out 18 missile tests, actions classified by the South Koreans as "attacks" and "provocations".
A news broadcast from Seoul broadcast a report on the launch of missiles by the US and South Korea, this Sunday, June 5, 2022. Lee Jin-man / AP
"The combined South Korea-U.S. surface-to-surface missile launch demonstrated the ability and posture to launch immediate precision strikes on provocation origins and their command and support forces," the South Korean military said in a statement, as reported by EFE.
On Saturday, a day before the North Korean gunfire, the US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan concluded a series of joint naval exercises with South Korea in the Philippine Sea, the first such action involving an aircraft carrier since 2017, an action was condemned by Pyongyang.
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The United States has tried to push for tougher international sanctions against North Korea in case it decides to carry out a nuclear test, but the possibility of new sanctions being approved is difficult, especially with the UN Security Council divided over this decision, AP reported.
In January, Russia and China blocked a US attempt at the UN to impose sanctions on five North Koreans in response to recent missile launches by Pyongyang.
Does North Korea have a new intercontinental ballistic missile?
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In March, North Korea had launched what appeared to be a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that flew much farther than the last one it had tested in 2017. The launch marked the end of a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and nuclear testing. missiles that Kim Jong-un announced in 2018, before starting diplomatic talks with then-President Donald J. Trump, which ultimately failed.
According to experts, with his provocations, the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, seeks to draw attention, especially from the United States, to the stalled negotiations and international sanctions against him, at a time when it seems unlikely that the international community, whose attention is focused on Ukraine, responds with more sanctions on North Korea for launching missiles.