People watch a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea on Friday as the US military warned that any use of nuclear weapons would “result in the end of that regime”.
South Korea said it detected the launches from the North’s eastern coastal area of Tongchon around midday Friday.
US officials said the launches did not pose an immediate threat to the United States or its allies but highlighted the "destabilising impact" of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs.
The back-to-back launches, the first in two weeks, came as South Korea performed field exercises, which involved some US troops.
North Korea sees the regular drills by Seoul and Washington as practice for launching an attack on the North, but the allies say the measures are purely defensive.
Since late September, the regime has launched a barrage of missiles toward the sea in what it called simulated tests of tactical nuclear weapons systems, and it has said the tests were meant to issue a warning to South Korea and the US amid their drills.
There are concerns that the North could up the ante in the coming weeks by conducting its first nuclear test since 2017.
Rafael Grossi, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the UN agency has been observing preparations for a new test, which would be the North’s seventh overall.
He said a new nuclear test explosion by North Korea “would be yet another confirmation of a program which is moving full steam ahead in a way that is incredibly concerning."
South Korea and the United States have strongly warned North Korea against using its nuclear weapons preemptively.
The Pentagon’s National Defense Strategy report issued on Thursday stated that any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies and partners “will result in the end of that regime."
“There is no scenario in which the Kim regime could employ nuclear weapons and survive," the report said.
During a visit to Tokyo on Tuesday, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman reiterated that the United States would fully use its military capabilities, “including nuclear," to defend its allies South Korea and Japan.
