Tensions continue to deteriorate in the seven-decade standoff between North and South Korea.
Hours after Kim Jong-un's regime fired another ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan, the democratic South showcased its military might with a prescheduled demonstration of its first submarine-launched ballistic missile.
Capable of hitting any part of North Korea, the landmark development makes South Korea only the seventh country globally to have this technology.
According to the BBC, South Korean President Moon Jae-in attended the weapons test and said afterward that his government now processed “sufficient deterrence to respond to North Korea's provocations at any time.” It added:
The comments were criticised by Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who described them as illogical and regrettable, warning that they could lead to a breakdown in ties, state news agency KCNA reported.
In North Korea's test, the short-range missiles flew around 800km (500 miles) at a maximum altitude of 60km, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
They were launched from central inland areas of the country, and flew east towards the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, the JCS added. South Korea and the US were conducting analysis to determine which type of missile was used.
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UN resolutions ban North Korea from carrying out tests with ballistic missiles – which can carry either nuclear or conventional warheads – in efforts to curb the country's nuclear programme.
While South Korea and the United States continue to investigate North Korea's latest provocation, developments from both Pyongyang and Seoul plainly show that the arms race on the Korean Peninsula has intensified.
