We begin with the latest tit-for-tat between the two Koreas...
South Korean officials say North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed his military shoot several surface-to-air missiles into the East Sea on Thursday afternoon.
Seoul officials speculate the firing was to protest against the ongoing annual military drills between South Korea and the U.S.
Kim Hyun-bin reports. North Korea fired seven surface-to-air missiles into the East Sea on Thursday afternoon.
Officials say the launch is likely to have been in protest against annual joint military exercises between South Korea and the U.S. military... and that they were fired from Seondok, South Hamkyong Province.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff made the announcement on Friday, saying the missiles were SA5s, which have a range of up to 200 kilometers, the longest in the SA missile category.
One official reportedly noted... that the Joint Chiefs of Staff believes North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed the launch.
This is the first time the North has fired SA5s.
The launch came a day before South Korea and the U.S. wrapped up their Key Resolve drill, the first of two military exercises underway this month.
The two-week computerized command post exercise involves some 10-thousand South Korean and 86-hundred U.S. troops and aims to enhance interoperability in all aspects of the military between Seoul and Washington in case of war.
Part two, the Foal Eagle field training exercise, will run through April 24th.
The drill mobilizes 200-thousand troops from Seoul and Washington who perform a variety of drills on land, in the air and at sea.
Pyongyang claims... the drills are a rehearsal for a northward invasion, while South Korea and the U.S. maintain... they are aimed at countering possible provocations from the North.
Kim Hyun-bin, Arirang News.
