Seoul, South Korea CNN —
North Korea fired at least 10 missiles on Wednesday, including one that landed near South Korean territorial waters for the first time since the division of the peninsula in 1945, South Korean officials said.
Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said a short-range ballistic missile landed in international waters 167 kilometers (104 miles) northwest of South Korea’s Ulleung Island, about 26 kilometers south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto interconnection. Korean maritime border that North Korea does not recognize.
An air raid warning on the island, located about 120 kilometers east of the peninsula, was lifted at around 14.00 local time on Wednesday.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called North Korea’s test an “effective territorial invasion.”
At an emergency meeting of the National Security Council (NSC), Yoon “ordered that a severe response be taken quickly so that North Korea’s provocation will pay a clear price,” according to South Korea’s presidential office.
In an immediate response, South Korea fired three air-to-surface missiles from F-15K and KF-16 fighter jets on Wednesday morning, according to JCS.
JCS said the South Korean Air Force targeted international waters north of the NLL at a distance equal to where the North Korean missile had previously landed south of the line.
“Our military’s precise strike showed our willingness to respond firmly to any provocation by North Korea, including short-range ballistic missiles, and our ability and readiness to precisely target the enemy,” he said JCS.
North Korea is “fully responsible” for the situation as it is they who continue to provoke despite warnings, JCS added.
Wednesday’s launch is North Korea’s 29th this year, according to a CNN count.
The aggressive acceleration of weapons testing has caused alarm in the region, with the US, South Korea and Japan responding with missile launches and joint military exercises.
On Monday, the United States and South Korea began previously scheduled large-scale military exercises called “Vigilant Storm.”
The maneuvers involve 240 aircraft and “thousands of service members” from both countries, according to the US Department of Defense.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is scheduled to meet his South Korean counterpart Lee Jong-sup at the Pentagon on Thursday.
Experts have previously told CNN that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be sending a message by deliberately showing off the nation’s arsenal during a period of intense global conflict.
Last month, North Korea’s state media broke a six-month silence on this year’s series of missile tests, claiming they were to demonstrate Pyongyang’s readiness to fire tactical nuclear warheads at potential targets to the south.
The latest tests also come after the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog warned last week that Pyongyang may be preparing for a nuclear test, its first since 2017, on satellite images which show activity at their underground nuclear test site.
“We are following this very, very closely. We hope it doesn’t happen, but unfortunately the signs point in another direction,” said the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, last Thursday.
Speaking on Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that North Korea is launching missiles at an “unprecedented frequency.”
Kishida also called for a National Security Council meeting to be held as soon as possible due to rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Earlier on Wednesday, Japanese Defense Minister Yaukazu Hamada said North Korea had fired at least two missiles, and both were believed to have fallen outside Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
No damage to aircraft or ships has been reported at this time, and it is possible that the ballistic missiles flew on an irregular trajectory, he added.