North Korea launches two short-range ballistic missiles, says South Korea

YEREVAN, JULY 19, ARMENPRESS. North Korea has launched two short-range ballistic missiles, which landed in the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, CNN reported citing a statement from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The missiles were launched from North Korea’s Sunan area, JCS said, and were fired in the early morning on Wednesday local time. After flying about 550 kilometers each, the missiles landed in the sea, it added.

JCS condemned the launch, describing it as a “significant provocation” undermining peace around the Korean Peninsula, as well as for the entire international community.

The launches follow a period of heightened tensions on the peninsula.

On Tuesday, a nuclear-capable US Navy Ohio-class ballisticmissile submarinemade a port call in South Korea.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a senior official in her own right, said in a statement Monday the deployment of a US ballistic missile submarine to the peninsula would damage already fractured lines of communication between the two sides, CNN reported.