Seoul says N. Korea fires two short-range projectiles, third launch in 8 days

North Korea fired two unidentified short-range projectiles from the east coast Friday in the early morning hours, Seoul’s military said. It is the third time in eight days that the regime has launched projectiles into the East Sea.

The projectiles, which the South’s presidential office said were probably “new short-range ballistic missiles,” were fired from the Yonghung area in South Hamgyong Province, north of Wonsan, Kangwon Province, according to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The JCS said the projectiles appeared to have flown about 220 kilometers at a speed of Mach 6.9 -- 6.9 times the speed of sound -- and reached altitudes of about 25 kilometers. The launches took place at 2:59 a.m. and 3:23 a.m., the JCS added.

Cheong Wa Dae said the projectiles showed similar flight patterns to the ones fired Wednesday, adding that they might be new short-range missiles.

“South Korea and US authorities believe the projectiles are likely to be new short-range ballistic missiles. But North Korea announced yesterday that it had fired a ‘new type of large-caliber guided ordnance rocket,’ so Seoul and Washington will closely cooperate for additional analysis,” Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Ko Min-jeong said in a statement after a ministerial conference.

On the Friday morning, Cheong Wa Dae convened an emergency meeting of security-related ministers, including national security adviser Chung Eui-yong and Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo.

“The ministers expressed strong concerns about North Korea’s firing of projectiles, in succession to the launches on July 25 and 31,” Ko said. “They urged North Korea to stop these actions, which do not (help the) efforts to ease military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.”

But Seoul appeared cautious about drawing conclusions this time, as its earlier assessment was at odds with Pyongyang’s claims about what kind of missiles it had fired.

On Wednesday, Seoul said North Korea had fired two short-range ballistic missiles that had flown about 250 kilometers and reached altitudes of about 30 kilometers in the Kalma area in North Hamgyong Province.

Pyongyang revealed the next day via its media outlets that it had fired “newly-developed large-caliber multiple launch guided rocket system” under the watch of leader Kim Jong-un, and went on to release several photographs in the afternoon.

When questions were raised about the validity of Seoul’s assessment, the military here maintained that the projectiles displayed flying patterns characteristic of missiles.

After the series of launches, the South Korean government spoke positively of the South’s military capabilities.

During a parliamentary committee meeting, Suh Hoon, the chief of the spy agency here, told lawmakers that Seoul had also test-fired missiles that were “much stronger” than Pyongyang’s, according to local broadcaster JTBC.

Defense Minister Jeong highlighted that the missile technologies the North appeared to be demonstrating were capabilities the South had acquired a long time ago.

“South Korea is far superior to the North in all military operation systems, and we have adequate defense capabilities,” Jeong said Wednesday during a defense forum.

It was the fifth time North Korea had fired projectiles into the East Sea this year, and the third time this month following launches July 25 and again Wednesday.

After firing what it claimed to be a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017, Pyongyang appeared to be abiding with its self-imposed moratorium until May this year. On May 4 and 9, Pyongyang fired short-range missiles that experts believe were probably a modified version of Russia’s Iskander missile.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)