MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Tension escalates as North Korea fires two more short-range missiles

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a telephone conversation with President Biden for a coordinated response

Just two days after launching an intermediate-range missile that triggered alarms in Japan, North Korea fired two more short-range ballistic missiles into the Pacific Ocean Thursday.

”The South Korean military detected two short-range ballistic missiles fired from the Samseok area in Pyongyang, North Korea, fired toward the East Sea at around 6:01 a.m. and 6:23 a.m. (21:01 a.m. and 9:23 p.m. GMT Wednesday),” the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.

It was the sixth North Korean launch in the past 10 days and comes after Seoul and Washington announced the return of the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan to waters off the Korean peninsula.

Pyongyang condemned the return of the Ronald Reagan to the area to after conducting exercises last week with the South Korean and Japanese navies. “The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is watching the US pose a serious threat to the stability of the Korean peninsula and its surroundings by redeploying its aircraft carrier and strike group in waters next to the Korean peninsula.”

The statement even acknowledges that last Tuesday's IRBM launch was a response to last week's Ronald Reagan maneuvers and criticizes that “the U.S. and some of its satellites” are now seeking sanctions from the UN Security Council for their “just response measures” to the “escalation of tension” posed by the carrier's exercises.

The IRBM launched Tuesday was the longest North Korean missile ever to cover a distance of some 4,500 kilometers after flying over northern Japan and falling into the Pacific Ocean. North Korea has been prepared for months to conduct a new nuclear test.

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s office issued official instructions to the public in response to the missile launch with the alerted missile launch and was in talks with US President Joseph Biden. “I held a telephone conversation with President Biden of the United States and shared the recognition that North Korea’s missile launch is a clear and serious challenge to the peace and stability of the entire international community,” he said.

“It was confirmed that the two countries will closely coordinate on further measures, including those at the Security Council, towards the complete denuclearization of North Korea.”