Subscribe
North Korea's official ruling Workers’ Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, carried photographs of a ballistic missile launch along with leader Kim Jong Un apparently observing it.

North Korea's official ruling Workers’ Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, carried photographs of a ballistic missile launch along with leader Kim Jong Un apparently observing it. (Screenshot from Rodong Sinmun)

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday, including one that flew about 620 miles before landing near Japan’s territorial waters, officials said.

The test came two weeks after the North test-fired a salvo of three missiles, highlighting the country’s growing anger over U.S. plans to deploy an advanced missile defense system on the peninsula and upcoming joint exercises with South Korea.

Wednesday’s missiles — confirmed to be Rodongs by South Korea’s Ministry of Defense — were fired simultaneously from the western city of Hwangju, US Strategic Command said.

“Initial indications reveal one of the missiles exploded immediately after launch, while the second was tracked over North Korea and into the Sea of Japan,” it said in a statement.

The other missile flew 620 miles before coming down in the Sea of Japan, the Ministry of Defense said.

Japanese officials condemned the launch and said the missile landed inside the country’s exclusive economic zone, a 230-mile offshore area in which it enjoys sovereign rights for exploring and exploiting resources.

North Korea has frequently test-fired missiles into the sea in a show of force, but the pace has increased in recent months.

North Korea has conducted nearly a dozen missile tests since mid-April, defying a new round of toughened U.N. sanctions that were imposed after its fourth underground nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch a month later.

Most of the recent launches were believed to be testing the Musudan missile, which has a longer range that could put it within reach of U.S. forces on Guam.

Defense analysts said the use of Rodongs, which have a maximum range of just over 800 miles, appeared to be aimed at showing they could reach U.S. bases in Japan as well as targets in South Korea.

“This launch is kind of like a warning to the U.S. and Japan that they can easily target and attack the U.S. forces in Japan,” said Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defense and Security Forum.

He pointed out the launch came a day after Japan warned in its annual defense report that North Korea’s nuclear weapons development represents “a grave and imminent threat.”

“Now the North Koreans replied to that concern with a missile launch,” he said.

Pyongyang has expressed increasing anger over U.S. sanctions imposed against its leader, Kim Jong Un, as well as the U.S.-South Korean agreement to station a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, known as THAAD, on the peninsula.

It threatened to retaliate with unspecified “physical counter-actions” shortly after the THAAD agreement was announced early last month.

North Korea also has ratcheted up its propaganda campaign ahead of annual U.S.-South Korea war games planned for later this month, which it considers a rehearsal for an invasion.

U.S. and South Korean officials insist the THAAD is necessary to guard against the growing threat from North Korea.

“North Korea's actions, combined with an unpredictable leader in Kim Jong Un, represent a serious and tangible threat to the Republic of Korea and the region at large,” Gen. Vincent Brooks, the top U.S. commander in Korea, said Tuesday in remarks to a group of defense experts. “North Korea is increasing its capabilities to attack with little to no warning.”

Stars and Stripes staffer Yoo Kyong Chang contributed to this report.

gamel.kim@stripes.com Twitter: @kimgamel

Sign Up for Daily Headlines

Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets from around the world.

Sign Up Now