South Korea and U.S. Launch Missiles to Counter North Korea’s Threat

South Korea and the U.S. military fired a series of missiles into the sea in response to North Korea’s ballistic missile launch over Japan, Seoul said Wednesday, as Pyongyang’s longest-range test has yet to draw international condemnation.

On Tuesday, nuclear-armed North Korea test-fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) farther than ever before, sending it soaring over Japan for the first time in five years, and residents are warned to take cover.

South Korean and U.S. troops conducted their own missile drills in response, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday.

Both sides fired two U.S.-made ATACMS short-range ballistic missiles, according to a statement.

The military separately confirmed that a South Korean Hyunmoo II missile fail shortly after launch and then crashed, but that no one was hurt.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned North Korea’s test in the “strongest terms,” the European Union called it a “reckless and deliberately provocative action,” and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the launch and said it was a violation of Security Council resolutions.

The U.S. asked the U.N. Security Council to meet Wednesday on North Korea, but diplomats said China and Russia opposed to a public discussion by the 15-member body.