N Korea fires Submarine-launched Ballistic Missile off Eastern Coast
Local Editor
North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile, just two days after threatening a nuclear attack in retaliation to large-scale US and South Korean joint military exercises.
According to a statement released by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, the missile was launched off the North's east coast in the Sea of Japan late on Tuesday.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that Tokyo "strongly protested" the launch, which he referred to as a "grave threat" to his country.
He added that Japan's self-defense force would remain on alert in case of further launches by Pyongyang.
Earlier, Pyongyang has warned that the massive joint military exercises being held by the US and the South are pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula "to the brink of a war" and called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.
In a letter sent to the council, North Korea's UN Ambassador Jan Song Nam accused Washington of "creating the danger of war" with the drills.
The Korean People's Army [KPA] issued a statement Monday morning, threatening a "preemptive retaliatory strike," should the war drills threaten Pyongyang's sovereignty.
The annual two-week "Ulchi Freedom Guardian" maneuver, which is largely computer-simulated, started on Monday with the participation of 50,000 Korean and 30,000 US soldiers.
Meanwhile, Japan called on the North to refrain from carrying out provocations, such as further missile tests in the region.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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