North Korea fired two suspected short-range ballistic missiles Friday ahead of a major political meeting to set policy for the new year, after ratcheting up tensions with a record number of launches in 2022.
The suspected ballistic missiles were fired at around 4:32 p.m. from an area near Pyongyang’s main international airport toward waters off North Korea’s east coast, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said. They traveled a distance of about 250 kilometers (155 miles) and 350 km (215 miles) respectively before falling into the sea, it said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is finding space to ramp up provocations and conduct tit-for-tat military moves against the U.S. and its allies as President Joe Biden focuses on Russia’s war in Ukraine. The launch came three days after the U.S. sent a bomber and F-22 stealth fighters to the peninsula for joint drills with South Korea.
