North Korea fires missiles as US aircraft carrier set to arrive in South Korea: Report

North Korea, officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Monday when a U.S. (United States) aircraft carrier was set to arrive in South Korea.

South Korea’s military said that the two missiles were fired from North Hwanghae province on Monday morning. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that the missiles flew about 370 kilometres (230 miles).

The government of Japan said that the two missiles appear to have landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Japan further slammed North Korea, saying that the missile launches threaten the safety, security and peace of the Japanese people.

The missile launches came as the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and its ships were ready to dock at a South Korean naval base in Busan, a large port city in South Korea.

South Korea’s military slammed the missile launches. South Korea said that the missile launches were a “grave provocation,” violating United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

South Korea’s military said in a statement, “We will keep a close eye on North Korea’s various activities and maintain a firm readiness posture based on the capability to overwhelmingly respond to any provocations.”

South Korea’s military further said that it would continue joint maritime exercises with the US on Monday off the Korean peninsula’s south coast as planned.

According to Reuters, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said that the latest launches were unable to threaten U.S. personnel and their allies. North Korea conducted various military tests in recent weeks. On Wednesday, North Korea started firing multiple cruise missiles. On Friday, North Korea tested a new nuclear-capable underwater attack drone.

North Korea has aggressively expanded its military capabilities since 2022. It tested various missiles as a part of a record-breaking streak of launches.