North Korea ‘fires four ballistic missiles, three land in Japanese waters’

North Korea has reportedly launched four ballistic missiles, three of which have landed into the Sea of Japan, in an area where Tokyo claims as its sovereign territory.

The missiles were fired early Monday morning, according to the South Korean military, which said they were unlikely to have been intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM).

Japanese officials said three of the ballistic missiles went down in Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) — waters claimed by Tokyo as its sovereign territory.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reacted to the launches immediately on Monday by saying, “This clearly shows North Korea has entered a new stage of threat.”

North Korea has been subjected to international pressure, including Security Council resolutions, to abandon its arms development and nuclear programs. Yet, it says the programs are meant to protect the country from US hostility.

North Korea’s missile launches coincided with massive joint military drills being carried out by the US and South Korea on the Korean Peninsula. The war games have been condemned by Pyongyang as “dangerous nuclear war drills against the DPRK at its doorstep.”

The US has military forces in South Korea — a long-time adversary of the North — and is planning to deploy an advanced missile system there in response to perceived threats from Pyongyang. The US also occasionally deploys nuclear-powered warships and aircraft capable of carrying atomic weapons in the region.