| South Korea and the United States hold a joint missile firing exercise at an unspecified location Monday, in this photo released by the Korean its Joint Chiefs of Staff. Yonhap |
South Korea and the United States fired eight ballistic missiles into the East Sea, Monday, in response to North Korea's missile launches the previous day, according to the South's military.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that the allies launched the ground-to-ground Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles for around 10 minutes from 4:45 a.m.
On Sunday, the North fired eight short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) from four different locations into the East Sea following a South Korea-U.S. naval exercise last week involving an American aircraft carrier.
"The South Korea-U.S. combined firing of the ground-to-ground missiles demonstrated the capability and posture to launch immediate precision strikes on the origins of provocations and their command and support forces," the JCS said in a press release.
"Our military strongly condemns the North's series of ballistic missile provocations and seriously urges it to immediately stop acts that raise military tensions on the peninsula and add to security concerns," it added.
Seoul officials have warned that Pyongyang's military provocations will be met with "corresponding" reactions.
Shortly after the North's launch of three ballistic missiles, including an apparent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), on May 25, the South and the U.S. conducted combined missile launches in their first such joint move since 2017. (Yonhap)