Ahead Of US VP Visit To South, North Korea Test-Fires Missiles

South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff confirm that North Korea has test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles from Sunan, to the east of the capital Pyongyang, into the waters off the east coast of the country in the Sea of Japan.

• The test firing comes a day before US Vice-President Kamala Harris' visit to South Korea. She is expected to visit the demilitarised zone on the border between the two nations.
• The US and South Korea held large-scale joint military exercises recently for the first time in five years, which the Kim regime in North Korea said could risk “triggering a conflict”.
• The North has carried out a massively increased programme of missile tests in 2022. The conservative administration of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has sought closer military relations with the US and Japan. However, he stated to the NYT earlier this week that “Our defense system is to deal with the North Korean threat, not China or other countries,”