North Korea fires three ballistic missiles hours after Biden leaves Asia

North Korea fired three ballistic missiles off its east coast on Wednesday at local time, according to information from the South Korean military.

The move came just hours after US President Joe Biden left the region after a trip in which he agreed to step up measures to stop the nuclear-armed state.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the three ballistic missile launches took place within less than an hour from the Sunan area of ​​the North Korean capital Pyongyang.

Japan’s coast guard also reported at least two launches, and Japanese broadcaster NHK said the missiles appeared to have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The missile launches came just hours after Biden left Japan after his first trip to Asia as president. US and South Korean officials had warned that North Korea appeared ready for a weapons test, possibly during Biden’s visit.

Biden and his new South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk-yeol, agreed on Saturday to hold larger military exercises and, if necessary, use more strategic US resources to stop North Korea’s escalating weapons tests.

But they also offered to ship Covid-19 vaccines to North Korea as the isolated country faces its first confirmed outbreak of the disease.

Japanese Defense Minister says missile represents provocative act

Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi has called the series of ballistic missile launches by North Korea a provocative act that cannot be tolerated.

Kishi said the first ballistic missile fired by North Korea reached an altitude of 550 km (341.75 miles) and flew about 300 km. The second missile reached an altitude of 50 km, flew at about 750 km, he added.

There is a possibility that more than two missiles were fired, Kishi told reporters.