North Korea test-fires two more missiles as United States sends carrier

A nuclearpowered US aircraft carrier and its battle group began exercises with South Korean warships on Monday hours after North Korea fired two shortrange ballistic missiles in an apparent protest of the allies expanding drillsThe seventh missile test this month underscored heightening tensions in the region as both the Norths weapons tests and the USSouth Korea joint military exercises have intensified in a cycle of titfortatThe launches may have been timed for the arrival of the USS Nimitz and its strike group including a guided missile cruiser and two destroyers which engaged in air defense exercises and other drills with South Korean warships in waters near Jeju islandJang Do Young a South Korean navy spokesperson said the drills were aimed at sharpening joint operational capabilities and demonstrating the US commitment to defend its ally with the full range of options including nuclear in face of the Norths escalating nuclear and missile threatsThe Nimitz strike group was expected to arrive in the South Korean mainland port of Busan on TuesdaySouth Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said the two North Korean missiles were fired from a western inland area south of the Norths capital of Pyongyang from around 747 am to 8 am and travelled around 370 kilometers 229 miles before landing at sea Japans military said the missiles which landed outside Japans exclusive economic zone flew on an irregular trajectory and reached a maximum altitude of 50 kilometers 31 milesJapan has previously used similar language to describe a North Korean solidfuel missile apparently modelled after Russias Iskander mobile ballistic system which is designed to be maneuverable in lowaltitude flight to better evade South Korean missile defencesNorth Korea also has another shortrange system with similar characteristics that resembles the US MGM140 Army Tactical Missile SystemJapanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said North Korea may dial up its testing activity further with more missile launches or even conducting its first nuclear test since September 2017The South Korean and Japanese militaries denounced the latest launches as a serious provocation threatening regional peace and said they were working with the United States to analyze the missiles further The US Indo Pacific Command said the launches did not pose an immediate threat to the United States or its allies but still highlighted the destabilizing impact of North Koreas illicit nuclear weapons and missiles programsNorth Korea which has weathered tightened UN Security Council sanctions since 2016 over its nuclear developments didnt immediately comment on the launchesThe United States and South Korea completed their biggest springtime exercises in years last week which had included both computer simulations and livefire field exercises But the allies have continued their field training in a show of force against the Norths rising threatsNorth Korea had also fired a shortrange missile when the USS Ronald Reagan and its battle group arrived for joint drills with South Korea in September which was the last time the United States sent an aircraft carrier to waters near the Korean PeninsulaAlso read US airstrikes in Syria after drone attack kills AmericanNorth Korea has launched more than 20 ballistic and cruise missiles on 11 occasions this year as it tries to force the United States to accept its nuclear status and negotiate a removal of sanctions from a position of strengthThe weapons tested this month included an intercontinental ballistic missile and a series of shortrange missiles intended to overwhelm South Korean defenses as North Korea tries to demonstrate an ability to conduct nuclear strikes on both South Korea and the US mainlandThe North last week carried out what it described as a threeday exercise that simulated nuclear attacks on South Korean targets The countrys leader Kim Jong Un has condemned the USSouth Korean joint military drills as invasion rehearsals The allies say the exercises are defensive in natureThe tests also included a purported nuclearcapable underwater drone that the North claimed can set off a huge radioactive tsunami and destroy naval vessels and ports Analysts were skeptical whether such a device was a major new threat and Seouls Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement Monday that it considers the North Korean claims likely to be exaggerated and fabricatedNorth Korea following some of its ballistic and cruise missile tests this month also claimed that those weapons were tipped with mock nuclear warheads that detonated 600 to 800 meters 1960 to 2600 feet above their sea targets communicating them as heights that would maximize damageNorth Korea already is coming off a record year in weapons testing launching more than 70 missiles in 2022It had set into law an escalatory nuclear doctrine that authorizes preemptive nuclear strikes in a broad range of scenarios where it may perceive its leadership as under threatIt appears North Korea might be practicing or signaling that its practicing the use of nuclear strikes both preemptive and retaliatory in a range of scenarios that are authorised in its nuclear doctrine said Duyeon Kim a senior analyst at the Center for a New American SecurityThe problem is that continued testing helps Pyongyang perfect its technology strengthen its nuclear weapons capability that threatens South Korea and Japan increase the likelihood of miscalculation that could lead to inadvertent conflict and accumulate political leverage ahead of future diplomatic talks with WashingtonFollowing the Norths announcement of the drone test on Friday South Koreas air force released details of a fiveday joint drill with the United States last week that included livefire demonstrations of airtoair and airtoground weaponsThe air force said the exercise was aimed at verifying precision strike capabilities and reaffirming the credibility of Seouls threeaxis strategy against North Korean nuclear threats preemptively striking sources of attacks intercepting incoming missiles and neutralizing the Norths leadership and key military facilitiesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever