Japan, S Korea hold drills after North’s missile launch

South Korea and Japan conduct separate military drills after the North launched a ballistic missile that traveled over northern Japan, sparking a fresh wave of global condemnations and warnings.

According to Press TV, Presidential Spokesman Park Su-hyun on Tuesday said four South Korean warplanes bombed a military firing range during the drill near the country’s eastern coast.

Park said the live-fire drill was conducted after South Korean President Moon Jae-in directed the military to “display a strong capability to punish” the North.

Moon’s National Security Director Chung Eui-yong and Seoul’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa called US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser H.R. McMaster and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, respectively, to discuss the launch.

“We will respond strongly based on our steadfast alliance with the United States if North Korea continues nuclear and missile provocations," the South’s Foreign Ministry also declared in a Tuesday statement.

It also urged Pyongyang to accept talks over its nuclear program and acknowledge that abandoning its nuclear ambitions is the only way to guarantee its security and economic development.

South Korea’s military also released footage of its own missile tests, which it said were carried out last week. The video clips showed two types of new missiles with ranges of 800 kilometers and 500 kilometers being fired from truck-mounted launchers during three tests performed on August 24.

In a similar move, the Japanese military deployed a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile system at a US military base in Tokyo as part of a pre-planned maneuver. During the drill, Japan’s air force servicemen operated vehicles mounted with antennas, radars, and a launch pad for PAC-3.

Pyongyang has tested a barrage of missiles over the past years, but it is the first time it launches what is believed to be a ballistic missile over Japan.

The South Korean military said the projectile, which was launched early Tuesday Korea time, flew 2,700 kilometers (1,680 miles) before reaching the Pacific Ocean.

The launched prompted Tokyo to warn residents of northern Hokkaido Island to take cover. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also called it an “unprecedented” threat to his country.

The North’s latest test comes as US and South Korean forces are conducting annual military exercises on the peninsula, which Pyongyang sees as a rehearsal for an invasion against the country.

ME