North Korea Fires ‘Barrage’ Of Missiles, South Korea Says

North Korea has carried out a several different missile tests Tuesday, according to the  South Korean military. South Korean military officials assessed North Korea fired missiles from both the ground and from airborne fighter jets, Fox News reported. The launches likely come as a show of force on the eve of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung’s 108th birthday, as well as a distraction ahead of South Korea’s upcoming parliamentary elections.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff assessed the first string of missile launches were fired off by North Korean troops in Munchonto and were presumed to be cruise missiles. The missiles reportedly splashed down 93 miles off the Korean coast. Later missile tests were carried out by North Korean fighter jets. An unknown number of suspected air-to-surface missiles were launched into the same waters off the Korean coast.

The missile launches are the latest in a series of recent North Korean weapons tests. Throughout President Donald Trump’s attempts to negotiate North Korea denuclearization, the country discontinued major weapons tests, such as for weapons that could reach the United States. Other, shorter range, ballistic missile tests did continue and with increased frequency as problems with the negotiations emerged. -Full Report

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