SEOUL: North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Friday, Seoul’s military said, the latest in a flurry of sanctions-busting weapons tests.

The launch comes at the end of a year that has seen Pyongyang conduct an unprecedented number of tests, including last month’s launch of its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile yet, with a range capable of hitting the US mainland.

Earlier this week, Pyongyang also claimed to have developed new capabilities to take images from space. “Our military spotted two short-range ballistic missiles launched by North Korea into the East Sea from the Sunan area of Pyongyang at around 16:32 (0732 GMT) today,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

The two missiles flew around 250 kilometres (155 miles) and 350 kilometres (217 miles), respectively, before splashing down into the East Sea, it added.

The United States and South Korea have warned for months that Pyongyang is preparing to conduct its seventh nuclear test.

But in a statement, the North Korean foreign ministry denied conducting arms transactions with Russia, saying the story was “cooked up by some dishonest forces for different purposes”.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2022