S Korea, US launch 8 ballistic missiles

South Korea and the United States said they fired eight surface-to-surface missiles off South Korea's east coast early yesterday, responding to a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles launched by North Korea on Sunday.

The action is a demonstration of "the capability and readiness to carry out precision strikes" against the source of North Korea's missile launches or the command and support centres, South Korea's Yonhap news agency cited the South Korean military as saying.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office last month, has vowed to take a tougher line against the North and agreed with US President Joe Biden at a May summit in Seoul to upgrade joint military drills and their combined deterrence posture.

North Korea has conducted a flurry of missile launches this year and Yoon said its missile and nuclear weapons programmes have reached a level at which they pose a threat to regional and world peace.

The South "will continue to build fundamental and practical security capabilities and deter the North's nuclear and missile threats," Yoon said at an event for South Korea's Memorial Day.

The militaries of South Korea and the United States fired eight surface-to-surface missiles over about 10 minutes starting at 4:45 am in response to the eight missiles fired by the North on Sunday, Yonhap reported.

An official from South Korea's Defence Ministry confirmed eight Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) had been fired.

US Indo-Pacific Command said the exercise included one US Army missile and seven from South Korea.

"The ROK-US Alliance remains committed to peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the Indo-Pacific," it said in a statement, using the initials of South Korea's official name.

North Korea's short-range ballistic missiles, fired toward the sea off its east coast on Sunday, were probably its largest single test and came a day after South Korea and the United States ended joint military drills.