South Korea's defense ministry strongly condemned North Korea's short-range ballistic missile launch on November 8, urging Pyongyang to immediately halt actions heightening tensions on the peninsula. The launch occurred a day after North Korea warned of measures against recent U.S. sanctions. U.S. Forces Korea acknowledged the incident and emphasized readiness to defend allies.
North Korea launched one suspected short-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Friday, local time. The action came a day after Pyongyang warned of "proper measures" against the latest U.S. sanctions on the regime, raising concerns over escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea's defense ministry issued a statement on Saturday, saying, "The South's military strongly condemns the recent ballistic missile launch by the North, and expresses deep regret for (the North's) statement denouncing South Korea-U.S. annual exercises and conference." It urged North Korea to "immediately halt" all acts heightening tensions between the two Koreas.
In a separate statement, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said it is "aware of the North's ballistic missile launch and its pursuit of long-range missile capabilities." "We are consulting closely with the Republic of Korea. Our focus is on maintaining the readiness required to defend the U.S. homeland and our allies in the region," the USFK added.
Meanwhile, North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang-chol denounced the annual security talks between South Korea and the United States as an "intentional" expression of the allies' "hostile" nature against it, vowing to take "more offensive" actions against enemy threats. No's remarks followed the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) held in Seoul on Tuesday, where the defense chiefs of South Korea and the U.S. discussed key alliance and defense issues.
The incident underscores ongoing strains in inter-Korean relations and the dynamics of the U.S.-South Korea alliance.
