Seoul condemns North Korea’s ballistic missile launches as breach of UN resolutions

South Korea has condemned North Korea’s latest ballistic missile launches as a violation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, urging Pyongyang to immediately halt such provocations.

The statement came after North Korea fired around 10 ballistic missiles towards the East Sea on Saturday, prompting an emergency security assessment meeting at South Korea’s presidential office.

In a press release issued after the meeting, the office said the launches constituted a clear breach of UNSC resolutions and called for an end to further missile tests. Officials also briefed President Lee Jae Myung on the situation and on the government’s planned countermeasures.

The emergency meeting brought together officials from the defence ministry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who reviewed the potential impact of the launches on South Korea’s security and discussed the country’s preparedness measures.

According to the South Korean military, the missiles were launched at around 1:20 pm from the Sunan area near Pyongyang and travelled roughly 350 kilometres before landing in the sea. Authorities in Seoul said they were working with the United States to analyse the missiles’ specifications and other technical details.

The tests mark North Korea’s first ballistic missile launch since its previous firing on 27 January. Analysts suggest the unusually large volley of missiles may have been intended as a response to the annual joint military exercise conducted by South Korea and the United States.

The exercise, known as Freedom Shield, began earlier this week and is scheduled to run for 11 days.

On the same day as the missile launches, South Korean and US forces carried out a joint river-crossing drill in the border county of Yeoncheon, about 50 kilometres north of Seoul. The training took place on the Imjin River and involved around 200 pieces of military equipment, including amphibious bridging vehicles and ribbon bridge systems.

Military officials said the exercise was aimed at strengthening operational coordination and interoperability between the two allies. The drill coincided with the missile launches, which appeared to be a show of force by Pyongyang in response to the allied military activities.

With IANS inputs