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North Korea Fires Ballistic Missiles after US Submarine Arrives in South Korea

July 24th, 2:32 PM EDT

MGN

SEOUL, South Korea (NEWSnet/AP) — North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern sea, South Korea’s military said Tuesday, adding to recent weapons testing apparently in protest of the U.S. sending naval assets to South Korea.

North Korea fired the missiles consecutively from an area near Pyongyang, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. Both missiles traveled around 250 miles before landing in water near the Korean Peninsula’s eastern coast. South Korea and U.S. intelligence agencies are analyzing the launches.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff condemned North Korea’s missile launches as a “grave provocation” that threaten regional peace and stability, and said the South Korean and U.S. militaries are working together to tighten their monitoring of North Korean military activities.

The launches came hours after South Korea’s navy said a nuclear-propelled U.S. submarine, USS Annapolis, arrived at a port on Jeju Island. That underscored the allies' efforts to boost the visibility of U.S. strategic assets to intimidate the North.

Last week, USS Kentucky became the first U.S. nuclear-armed submarine to go to South Korea since the 1980s. North Korea reacted to its arrival by test-firing missiles in apparent demonstrations that it could conduct nuclear strikes against South Korea and deployed U.S. naval vessels.

U.S. and South Korea have expanded combined military exercises and increased regional deployments of U.S. aircraft and ships, including bombers, aircraft carriers and submarines to counter the nuclear threats posed by North Korea, which has test-fired around 100 missiles since early 2022.

The Annapolis, whose main mission is destroying enemy ships and submarines, is powered by a nuclear reactor, but armed with conventional weapons. It docked at Jeju mainly to load supplies, but Jang Do Young, a spokesperson for South Korea’s navy, said the U.S. and South Korean militaries are discussing whether to arrange training involving the vessel.