韩国首尔朝鲜据报道，周三朝东海发射了两枚弹道导弹韩国美国参谋长联席会议。
这些导弹是从朝鲜中部发射的，飞行了近500英里，然后降落在朝鲜半岛和朝鲜半岛之间的水域日本。这是这个封闭的国家本周第二次试射导弹。
“朝鲜在其东海岸发射了两枚不明弹道导弹，”韩国参谋长联席会议周三在一份声明中告诉美国广播公司新闻。"韩国和美国情报部门正在分析细节."
美国印太司令部称朝鲜发射导弹“破坏稳定”，但表示“对美国人员或领土或我们的盟友没有直接威胁。”
该司令部在周三的一份声明中说:“我们知道这次导弹发射，并正在与我们的盟友和合作伙伴密切磋商。“虽然我们评估认为这一事件不会对美国人员或领土或我们的盟友构成直接威胁，但导弹发射凸显了朝鲜非法武器计划的破坏稳定影响。美国对大韩民国和日本防御的承诺依然坚定不移。”
与此同时，日本首相菅义伟称这次发射“简直令人发指”，谴责它是对该地区“和平与安全的威胁”，明显违反了联合国安理会禁止朝鲜从事任何弹道导弹活动的决议。
菅义伟周三对记者表示:“我们将与美国、韩国和其他有关国家密切合作，坚决保护我们公民的生命和他们的和平生活。
就在导弹发射的两天前，平壤宣布在周末发射了两次新研制的巡航导弹，这标志着该国六个月来的首次武器试验。朝鲜官方媒体周一将远程导弹描述为“具有重大意义的战略武器”
首尔的分析人士认为，继朝鲜领导人金正恩的强大妹妹金日成上个月发表措辞强硬的声明之后，朝鲜连续进行弹道测试是一种挑衅。她批评韩国参加与美国的年度联合军事演习，并警告说“将付出昂贵的代价。”
尽管如此，首尔政府资助的智库韩国国家统一研究所(Koh Yu-hwan)所长许毓焕表示，最近的导弹试验“对美国本土没有真正的威胁。”
Koh周三告诉美国广播公司新闻，“朝鲜正在走钢丝，违背金正恩在新加坡峰会上与美国前总统特朗普做出的承诺，即不发射远程导弹或进行核试验。”。
首尔一家独立的非营利智库阿桑政策研究所的访问研究员查杜惠根表示，挑衅性的发射“并不奇怪”
“我们可以将此视为短时间内的低强度挑衅，以引起美国的注意，”查周三告诉美国广播公司新闻。“这个共产主义国家试图向世界表明，他们热衷于发展武器系统，但与此同时，也在小心翼翼地不打破核禁令。”
自2017年以来，朝鲜一直保持着对核试验和远程导弹试验的自我暂停，但该国领导人在2020年表示，他将不再受此类限制的约束。
平壤最近的导弹发射是今年的第五次，与此同时，中国外交部长王毅访问了首尔，会见了韩国总统文在寅和其他高级官员，讨论了与朝鲜陷入僵局的核谈判。当记者问及对弹道导弹试验的评论时，王强调了恢复对话和给朝鲜半岛带来和平的重要性。
中国是朝鲜最后的主要盟友和最大的援助和贸易来源。
North Korea fires ballistic missiles in 2nd test in a week
SEOUL, South Korea --North Koreafired two ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Wednesday, according toSouth Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The missiles were launched from central North Korea and soared nearly 500 miles before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula andJapan. It's the second time this week that the reclusive country has test-launched missiles.
"North Korea fired two unidentified ballistic missiles off its East Coast," the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea told ABC News in a statement Wednesday. "South Korea and the U.S. intelligence are analyzing for details."
The United States Indo-Pacific Command described the North Korean missile launch as "destabilizing" but said there was no "immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies."
"We are aware of the missile launch and are consulting closely with our allies and partners," the command said in a statement Wednesday. "While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies, the missile launch highlights the destabilizing impact of the DPRK’s illicit weapons program. The U.S. commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea and Japan remains ironclad."
Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga called the launch "simply outrageous," condemning it as a "threat to the peace and security" of the region and a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban North Korea from engaging in any ballistic missile activities.
“We will work closely with the U.S., South Korea and other concerned nations to resolutely protect the lives of our citizens and their peaceful lives," Suga told reporters Wednesday.
The missile launch came just two days after Pyongyang announced that it had fired a newly developed cruise missile twice over the weekend, marking the country's first weapons test in six months. North Korean state media on Monday described the long-range missile as a "strategic weapon of great significance."
Analysts in Seoul saw the consecutive ballistic tests as a provocation on the heels of a strongly-worded statement released last month by Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. She criticized South Korea for taking part in an annual joint military drill with the United States and warned that "a dear price will be paid."
Nevertheless, Koh Yu-hwan, president of the Korea Institute for National Unification, a government-funded think tank in Seoul, said the recent missile tests posed "no real threat to the U.S. mainland."
"North Korea is walking a tightrope of crossing the promise Kim Jong Un made with former [U.S.] President [Donald] Trump at the Singapore summit to refrain from firing long-range missiles or conducting nuclear experiments," Koh told ABC News on Wednesday.
Cha Du Hyeogn, a visiting research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, an independent, non-profit think tank in Seoul, said the provocative launches were "not surprising."
"We could see this as a low-intensity provocation in a short interval to call for the U.S. attention," Cha told ABC News on Wednesday. "The communist state is trying to show the world that they are keen on developing a weapons system, but at the same time is being careful not to break the nuclear moratorium."
North Korea has maintained a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests since 2017, but the country's leader said in 2020 that he will no longer be bound by such restrictions.
Pyongyang's latest missile launch -- the fifth this year -- coincided with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Seoul, where he met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and other senior officials to discuss the stalled nuclear talks with the North. When asked by reporters for comment on the ballistic test, Wang emphasized the importance of resuming dialogue and bringing peace to the Korean Peninsula.
China is North Korea's last major ally and biggest source of aid and trade.
