Sonu Sood

Kim Gunn, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and his American counterpart, Sung Kim, voiced "serious concerns" over Pyongyang's test-firing of two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) earlier in the day. The provocation came two days after the launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) over Japan, Yonhap news agency reported.

The two sides each launched two Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles, which precisely hit mock targets and demonstrated the allies' capability to deter further provocations, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. On Tuesday, the North fired an IRBM from Mupyong-ri in its northern province of Jagang in its first launch of an IRBM in eight months. It flew around 4,600 kilometers over Japan and landed in the Pacific, Yonhap news agency reported.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from Mupyong-ri in the northern province of Jagang at 7:23 a.m. and that the missile flew some 4,500 kilometres at an apogee of around 970 km at a top speed of Mach 17.

Unification Minister Kwon Young-se made the remark to Yonhap News Agency at Incheon International Airport ahead of his departure for Germany for a four-day trip aimed at seeking support for Seoul's peace and denuclearization efforts while joining the celebration for the 32nd anniversary of Germany's unification.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that it detected the launches from the Sunan area in Pyongyang between 6:45 a.m. and 7:03 a.m. It did not provide other details, Yonhap news agency reported. "While strengthening our monitoring and vigilance, our military is maintaining a full readiness posture in close cooperation with the US," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.

Earlier this month, a US State Department spokesperson said Russia may be in the process of purchasing "millions of rockets and artillery shells" from North Korea, which would violate multiple UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions on Pyongyang, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) meeting was held in Pyongyang the previous day, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "The session adopted with unanimous approval the ordinance of the SPA of the DPRK 'On Adopting Law of the DPRK on Socialist Rural Development' and 'On Adopting Law of the DPRK on Landscaping'," it said. 

In July, a US State Department spokesperson expressed concerns over the North's rights situation following Seoul's appointment of a new envoy for Pyongyang's human rights, reports Yonhap News Agency. A researcher at the North's Korea Association for Human Rights Studies dismissed the remarks and accused Washington of using the issue to strengthen its "hostile policy", according to Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The United States Department announced the extension of the ban through August 31, 2023, in the Federal Register notice published on Tuesday, reports Yonhap News Agency. The restriction -- initially imposed in 2017 and since renewed every year -- was set to expire at the end of this month.

In the "solidarity letter" sent to the party's central committee the previous day, the WPK also called the US House of Representatives' trip a "serious infringement" of Beijing's sovereignty, according to Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).