FILE - A tv screen showing a news program reporting about North Korea's missile launch with file footage, is seen at a railway station in Seoul.
North Korea fired a mid-range ballistic missile on Oct. 4, 2022, which flew over Japan, Seoul and Tokyo. (Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea launched two ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on Thursday, as the United States redeployed one of its aircraft carriers near the Korean Peninsula in response to the North’s recent launch of a powerful missile over Japan.South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement the launches were made 22 minutes apart from the North’s capital region on Thursday morning.It said South Korea has boosted its surveillance posture and maintains a readiness in close coordination with the United States.Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also confirmed the North Korean missile launches, saying the weapons firings are "absolutely intolerable."The launches Thursday were North Korea’s sixth round of weapons firings in less than two weeks, which has prompted condemnation from the United States and other countries.North Korea on Tuesday fired an intermediate-range missile over Japan for the first time in five years, forcing the Japanese government to issue evacuation alerts and halt trains.It was North Korea’s most provocative weapons demonstration in years.
Experts said the weapon was likely a Hwasong-12 missile capable of reaching the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam and beyond.Thursday's launches came as the U.S.