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North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile on Thursday morning, hours after Pyongyang warned of a “tougher” military response to the United States and its allies, a South Korean defense official said.File photo courtesy of Thomas Maresca/UPI
SEOUL, Nov. 17 (UPI) — North Korea South Korea’s military said it fired a short-range ballistic missile into the East Sea on Thursday, hours after Pyongyang warned the United States and its allies that it would respond “more aggressively” to its growing security cooperation.
The missile was launched from the coastal town of Wonsan at a maximum altitude of 29 miles and flew about 150 miles, according to the Seoul Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“North Korea’s series of ballistic missile launches is a serious provocation that undermines the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and the international community,” JCS said in a text message to reporters.
The South Korean and U.S. militaries held “pre-planned” missile defense exercises ahead of the launch, the JCS added.
The launch came after North Korea’s foreign ministry issued a statement condemning tripartite summit Hosted by the United States, South Korea and Japan on Sunday, the allies pledged to “enhance deterrence” in response to threats from Pyongyang.
Summit will ‘ultimately lead to North Korea issue’ [P]The peninsula has entered an unpredictable phase,” North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said in a statement carried by KCNA.
“The more the United States is keen to ‘bolster long-term deterrence’ to its allies, the more they will intensify their provocative and bravado military activities against North Korea [P]The peninsula… North Korea’s military counterattack will be more violent,” Choi said.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.
She added: “The United States will clearly realize that this is a gamble, which it will surely regret.”
America president joe biden The U.S. pledge to expand deterrence against South Korea and Japan was reaffirmed at a summit held on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Washington has pledged to use its full military capabilities, nuclear and conventional, to defend its allies.
North Korea has conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests this year, including several intercontinental ballistic missile launches. Officials in Seoul and Washington assessed that North Korea had completed preparations to conduct a nuclear test, its seventh full-scale test and its first since 2017.
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