North Korea launches multiple missiles: Seoul

South Korea’s defence ministry has said that the north supposedly launched a series of surface-to-ship missiles on Thursday morning, following which Seoul has stepped up surveillance against possible threats.

‘North Korea fired multiple unidentified projectiles, assumed to be surface-to-ship missiles, this morning from the vicinity of Wonsan, Gangwon Province,’ the ministry said.

This is the latest in a string of tests by North Korea in defiance of United Nations sanctions.

This would be the fourth missile test by the Kim Jong-un regime in less than five weeks, as Pyongyang continues to defy UN warnings and United States threats of possible military action.

The UN Security Council last week unanimously adopted a US-drafted resolution imposing new targeted sanctions on a handful of North Korean officials and entities, in response to a series of ballistic missile tests this year that are banned under UN resolutions.

However, North Korea on Sunday slammed the latest UN sanctions as ‘mean’ and vowed to press ahead with its missile and nuclear weapons programmes.

Early last month, the North test-fired what appeared to be its longest-range ballistic missile to date, in a bid to bring the US mainland within reach.

IMAGE: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un looks on during a ballistic rocket test-fire through a precision control guidance system in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency. Photograph: Reuters