Seoul, May 27 (IANS) South Korea’s military on Monday staged an air exercise near the border with North Korea in response to the latter’s planned launch of what it claims to be a military spy satellite.
Around 20 fighter jets, including F-35A stealth fighters, conducted the drills in a central region south of a no-fly-zone near the inter-Korean border, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, hours after North Korea notified Japan of its plan to launch a space rocket carrying a satellite between Monday and midnight of June 3, Yonhap news agency reported.
“This strike package exercise was conducted to demonstrate the resolve and capabilities to punish immediately, strongly, and until the end, if the enemy undertakes a provocation,” the JCS said.
North Korea’s notice came before South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Monday.
Yoon and Kishida have called on North Korea to cease its launch plan.
According to Kyodo News, North Korea designated three areas where debris will fall — two west of the Korean Peninsula and the other east of the Philippines’ island of Luzon.
Pyongyang has made public a plan to launch three more satellites this year following its first military reconnaissance satellite launch in November.
The launch plan comes despite international criticism that any launch using ballistic missile technology violates UN Security Council resolutions.
“North Korea’s purported military spy satellite launch is a provocative act that breaches the UN Security Council resolutions, and our military will implement measures that demonstrate our powerful capability and determination,” JCS spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun said in a press statement.
Last week, the South Korean military said it had detected apparent signs of Pyongyang preparing for a military spy satellite launch at a launch site on its west coast.
Observers said that North Korea appears intent on securing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) assets as it is far behind the allies in ISR capabilities despite its focus on developing an array of formidable weapons systems, including submarine-launched ballistic missiles and tactical nuclear arms.
–IANS
int/sd/khz
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
