North fires two short-range missiles into East Sea

North Korea launched two ballistic missiles into the East Sea early Wednesday morning, a day after a U.S. nuclear-capable submarine made a port call in the southern port city of Busan.

A North Korean Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile is seen taking off in this photo taken by the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency on July 12. [YONHAP]

North Korea launched two ballistic missiles into the East Sea early Wednesday morning, a day after a U.S. nuclear-capable submarine made a port call in the southern port city of Busan.

Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the South Korean military detected the launches of two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) from the Sunan area of Pyongyang toward the East Sea at 3:30 a.m. and 3:46 a.m.

The JCS said the two missiles flew approximately 550 kilometers (341.7 miles) and 600 kilometers before landing in the sea, and that South Korean and U.S. intelligence are analyzing their trajectories for more details.

The missiles were also detected by the Japanese coast guard, which said they appeared to have landed outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The JCS condemned the launches as “significant provocations” and a “clear” violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The command also told reporters in a text message, “Our military will maintain a firm readiness posture based on capabilities to respond overwhelmingly to any North Korean provocations.”

The SRBM launches took place two days after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, called the U.S. decision to send a nuclear-capable submarine to South Korea “a foolish act that could put [U.S.] security at risk” by “provoking” the North.

The nuclear-capable USS Kentucky ballistic missile submarine sails between two warships as it arrives in Busan on Tuesday afternoon. [UNITED STATES FORCES KOREA]

The 18,750-ton Ohio-class USS Kentucky is the first ballistic missile submarine to make a known port call in South Korea in over four decades.

The submarine’s arrival is intended to “manifest” the U.S. security commitment to South Korea, according to Kurt Campbell, the White House National Security Council coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs, who came to Seoul to take part in Tuesday’s inaugural meeting of the South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG).

The NCG is a bilateral consultative body created to strengthen extended deterrence that was first announced in the Washington Declaration signed by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden at their bilateral summit at the White House on April 26, during Yoon’s state visit to the United States.

But Kim warned that U.S. efforts to increase “extended deterrence,” including the submarine’s visit, would only push Pyongyang “farther from the negotiating table,” according to the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency.

She also said that the launch of a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) by the North on July 12 was only the “beginning,” echoing her brother’s earlier statement that Pyongyang would “continue to carry out an even stronger military offensive” until Washington and Seoul admit “defeat.”

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]