North Korea fires three ballistic missiles; China opposes THAAD
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un celebrates the launch of a submarine-based missile in August.
Story highlights
- North Korea fires three ballistic missiles
- Comes as China says it opposes deployment of South Korean missile defense system
- US built Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD) designed to shoot down North Korean missiles
(CNN)North Korea fired three ballistic missiles Monday morning, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The
missiles were fired from areas around Hwangju country, in North
Hwanghae province, towards the Sea of Japan, the Joint Chiefs said in a
statement.
This comes just under two weeks after Pyongyang test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile. That missile entered Japan's air defense identification zone, the first time that has happened.
It also comes at a potentially embarrassing time for North Korea's only real ally, China, which is currently hosting the Group of Nations summit in Hangzhou.
At
the G20, Chinese President Xi Jinping told his South Korean counterpart
on Monday that Beijing opposes the deployment of the United States' THAAD missile defense system to South Korea, according to China's official Xinhua News Agency.
What is THAAD? 00:48
"Mishandling
the issue is not conducive to strategic stability in the region and
could intensify disputes," Xinhua quoted Xi as telling Park Geun-hye.
The stated purpose of the THAAD system is to defend South Korea from missile attack from the North.
South Korea announced the deployment of the missile system in July but it's not yet in operation.
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