'North Korea's firing missiles is a show of force'

onnaedo

March 13, 2015 5:01 PM

Reports say North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un was present during the launch which took place off the eastern coast.

South Korea's defence ministry reports that North Korea has fired 7 ground-to-air missiles into the sea, this is according to the BBC.

Reports say North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un was present during the launch which took place off the eastern coast. The missile firing comes on the last day of an annual United States-South Korea military exercise.

The US-South Korean annual exercises, which North Korean capital, Pyongyang calls a rehearsal for invasion, are always a trigger for a surge in tensions between the two Koreas.

North Korea showed its opposition to this year's drills by firing two short-range ballistic missiles when they began earlier this month.

South Korea said the missiles fired were believed to be SA-2 or SA-3s, with a range of "dozens of kilometres", as well as one SA-5 with a range of 200km (120 miles).

Reacting to the missile firing, a South Korean spokesman told AFP reporters that the move was seen as another show of force by the north.

There were, however, no reports of tests in North Korean media.

There is no love lost between North and South Korea as both nations are technically still at war since the 1950-53 conflict ended with a ceasefire, not a peace treaty.

onnaedo