Kim Jong Un Fires Ballistic Missiles Ahead Of US Warship's Arrival In Busan To Deter North Korea

Kim Jong Un, on Monday, fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast amid rising tensions with the U.S. and South Korea.

What Happened:  South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the missiles, fired from North Hwanghae province, flew about 370 kilometers.

The Japanese government, confirming the launch, said both missiles appear to have landed outside the country's exclusive economic zone.

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The latest in the series of recent missile launches came ahead of the planned arrival of one of the largest warships in the world, USS Nimitz, and its accompanying strike group at a South Korean naval base in Busan on Tuesday. South Korea’s defense ministry said the aircraft carrier would stage joint maritime exercises with Seoul's army on Monday off the Korean peninsula’s south coast.

Seoul “strongly condemned” the North Korean missile launch as a grave provocation violating United Nations Security Council resolutions and called for an immediate halt.

The Japanese government also lodged a “strong protest” and said Pyongyang's missile launches threaten the safety and peace of the country, the region and the international community.

South Korea said USS Nimitz's planned visit — the first since the USS Ronald Reagan visited in September — was arranged as part of efforts to have more U.S. “strategic assets” in the region to deter Kim.

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