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US, South Korea launch eight missiles in response to North Korea missile firings
- On Sunday, North Korea fired short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast a day after South Korea and the US ended joint military drills
- Last month, North Korea fired three missiles including one thought to be its largest ICBM, after Joe Biden ended a trip to Asia
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South Korea and the United States fired eight surface-to-surface missiles early on Monday off South Korea’s east coast after North Korea launched a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles on Sunday, a South Korea defence ministry official said.
The action is a demonstration of “the capability and readiness to carry out precision strike” against the source of North Korea’s missile launches or the command and support centres, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency cited the South Korean military as saying.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office last month, has vowed to take a tougher line against the North and agreed with US President Joe Biden at a May summit in Seoul to upgrade joint military drills and their combined deterrence posture.
The militaries of South Korea and the United States fired eight surface-to-surface missiles over a period of about 10 minutes starting 4:45am on Monday (1945 GMT Sunday) in response to the eight missiles fired by the North on Sunday, Yonhap reported.
An official from South Korea’s Defence Ministry confirmed eight Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) had been fired.
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