Tension in Korea has heightened as North Korea has so far fired 23 various types of short range missiles in the international waters of the Korean Peninsula. Although no damage to South Korean aircrafts and vessels were reported, Seoul has retaliated to North Korea’s latest barrage of weapons tests, which further heightened the tension spreading throughout the region.

According to the Defense Ministry of South Korea, the mo9st recent short-range ballistic missiles launched by Pyongyang landed close to South Korea’s territorial waters. South Korea’s Deputy Minister of Defense Toshiro Ino reported that the short distance missile flew at less than 50 kilometres at maximum altitude, an example of how North Korea has been escalating its provocative actions. Aside from launching more than a dozen ballistic missiles, North Korea has fired more than 100 artillery shells into Japan’s sea; whilst releasing extremely provocative statements. As a matter of fact, one of the ballistic missiles fell into the waters just outside of Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

SoKor President Orders Launch of Retaliatory Strike

SoKor President Yoon Suk Yeol said it was clear that the North Korean tests were exercises that aim to carry out “effective territorial encroachment.” After calling an emergency meeting with members of South Korea’s National Security Council (NSC), President Yoon ordered that a serious response be launched immediately to let North Korea know that there’s a clear price to pay for their provocative actions.

News reports from the SoKor presidential office said that last Wednesday, F-15K and KF-16 fighter jets had dropped three air-to-surface missiles in international waters in the Northern Limit Line, in the same distance that N. Korea had dropped its missiles.