North Korea launched at least 10 missiles of various types

North Korea test-fired at least ten missiles of various types yesterday, South Korea's National Defense General Staff said, shortly after a senior military officer confirmed that a ballistic missile had landed near Seoul's territorial waters "for the first time".

"North Korea launched at least 10 missiles of various types today to the east and west," the staff informed, while South Korean President Yun Sok-gil ordered a "swift response" to Pyongyang's new "provocations".

A few hours earlier, the general staff announced that, "for the first time", a North Korean ballistic missile had landed "near" South Korea's "territorial waters", south of the disputed imaginary maritime boundary line.

The launch "is very unusual and unacceptable," a senior official stressed, explaining that it "landed near South Korean territorial waters, south of the demarcation line (…) for the first time" since the Korean peninsula split, a senior South Korean official explained.

The launch was a "de facto invasion" of South Korean territory, South Korean President Yun Seok-gil said.

Mr. Yun "underlined that the North Korean provocation was in effect an invasion of the territory" of his country, "for the first time since the division" of the Korean peninsula, according to a press release released by his Blue House services.

Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ-AFP