North Korea fired what appeared to be multiple rocket launchers Sunday, Seoul said, the latest in a series of provocations by the nuclear-armed nation to heighten tensions in the region.
Washington and Seoul officials have also warned that the isolated regime is preparing to carry out what would be its seventh nuclear test — a move that the United States warned would provoke a “swift and forceful” response.
Last month, South Korean Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup said Seoul would “strengthen” its defence capabilities, as well as its security cooperation with Washington and Tokyo, to counter the nuclear threat from Pyongyang.
A total of six US top-of-the-line F-35A fighters arrived in the South last week for a 10-day allied exercise running until July 14, in the first public deployment of American stealth warplanes in the country since late 2017.