Seoul: North Korea fired at least 10 missiles of various types on Wednesday, Seoul’s military said, shortly after it confirmed a ballistic missile had landed near South Korean waters for the first time. An air raid warning was issued for Ulleungdo Island, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, which was broadcast on national television and told residents to “evacuate to the nearest underground shelter”. “North Korea launched at least 10 missiles of various types today to the east and west,” South Korea’s Chief of Staff said, as the country’s president ordered a “swift response” to Pyongyang’s latest “provocations”. South Korea said for the “first time” a ballistic missile fired by North Korea landed south of the disputed maritime border and near South Korean territorial waters. “North Korea’s missile launch is highly unusual and unacceptable as it landed near South Korea’s territorial waters south of the Northern Limit Line for the first time” since the peninsula was divided, said Kang Shin-chul, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Chiefs of staff told reporters: “North Korea fired three short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea,” the JCS said in a statement, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of ​​Japan. The military said one of Pyongyang’s missiles landed in international waters south of the Northern Limit Line, the disputed maritime border between the two countries. South Korean President Yun Suk-yeol called a meeting of the National Security Council over the launch, which analysts said was one of the most “aggressive and threatening” in years. Japan also confirmed the launch of North Korean ballistic missiles, with the coast guard warning vessels to take care. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters: “As we see the tension on the Korean peninsula rising, I would like to hold a national security meeting as soon as possible.” Pyongyang’s latest launch comes as Seoul and Washington hold their largest joint air drills, dubbed “Vigilant Storm,” involving hundreds of warplanes from both sides. Park Yong-chon, a senior official in North Korea, said the drills were aggressive and provocative, according to a state media report on Wednesday. Pak said the exercise’s name refers to Operation Desert Storm, the US-led military offensive in Iraq in 1990-1991 after its invasion of Kuwait. “If the US and South Korea attempt to use armed forces against the (DPRK) without any fear, the special means of the DPRK armed forces will carry out their strategic mission without delay,” he said. “The US and South Korea will have to face a terrible case and pay the most horrific price in history.” “unstable state” One of the missiles on Wednesday landed in waters just 57 kilometers (35 miles) east of the South Korean mainland, the military said. “In protest of the US-South Korea joint exercise, Pyongyang appears to have staged the most aggressive and threatening armed demonstration against the South since 2010,” Cheong Seong-chang, a researcher at the Sejong Institute, told AFP. In March 2010, a North Korean submarine torpedoed the South Korean navy ship Cheonan, killing 46 sailors, including 16 who were on active duty. In November of that year, the North bombed an island on the South Korean border, killing two marines — both young conscripts. “It is now a dangerous and unstable situation that could lead to armed conflict,” he added. The test follows a recent spate of launches, including what the North said were routine nuclear drills, which Washington and Seoul have repeatedly warned could lead to another nuclear test — which would be Pyongyang’s seventh . Vigilant Storm air exercises were preceded by 12 days of amphibious naval exercises. “As far as I can remember, North Korea never made such a provocation when South Korea and the US were conducting joint exercises,” Park Won-gon, a professor at Ewha University, told AFP. “Pyongyang appears to have completed its most powerful deterrent. This is a serious threat. The North also appears confident of its nuclear capabilities.” (Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published by a syndicated feed.)

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