With the arrival of the US aircraft carrier Nimitz and its strike group to participate in exercises with South Korean warships, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles in an apparent protest against the expansion of US-South Korean exercises

 Edited by| Christian Megan

 Asia section -  CJ journalist

 SEOUL, South Korea - March 27, 2023  

   Jang Do Young, a South Korean navy spokesperson, said the drills were aimed at sharpening joint operational capabilities and demonstrating the U.S. commitment to defend its ally with the full range of options, including nuclear, in face of the North’s “escalating nuclear and missile threats.”

The Nimitz strike group was expected to arrive at the South Korean mainland port of Busan on Tuesday.

“The United States has deployable strategic assets at the ready on every day,” said Rear Adm. Christopher Sweeney, commander of Carrier Strike Group Eleven. “We can continue to deploy those assets and we will.”

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the two North Korean missiles were fired from a western inland area south of the North’s capital of Pyongyang from around 7:47 a.m. to 8 a.m. and traveled around 370 kilometers (229 miles) before landing at sea. Japan’s military said the missiles, which landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, flew on an irregular trajectory and reached a maximum altitude of 50 kilometers (31 miles).

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said North Korea may dial up its testing activity further with more missile launches or even conduct its first nuclear test since September 2017.

The South Korean and Japanese militaries denounced the latest launches as a serious provocation threatening regional peace and said they were working with the United States to analyze the missiles further. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the launches did not pose an immediate threat to the United States or its allies but still highlighted the “destabilizing impact” of North Korea’s illicit nuclear weapons and missile programs.

North Korea, which has weathered tightened U.N. Security Council sanctions since 2016 over its nuclear developments, didn’t immediately comment on the launches.

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