South Korea has responded to its northern neighbour's missile test by dropping eight heavy bombs near the border with the DPRK. The test was ordered by President Moon Jae-in and it saw four F-15K fighter-bombers drop the munitions at a firing range.
The Yonhap news agency says all bombs hit their targets and the operation was designed to show North Korea that the South could respond to any military attack with force. Each bomb weighs 2,000 pounds (907kg) and can penetrate 36 feet (11 metres) into the earth, reports The Independent.
South Korea's military has released footage of the simulated attack, with Colonel Lee Kuk-no issuing this warning: "If North Korea threatens the security of the South Korean people and the South Korea-US alliance with their nuclear weapons and missiles our air forces will exterminate the leadership of North Korea with our strong strike capabilities."
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Japanese government officials watching North Korean missile test. Credit: PA
It was a reactionary move to the Democratic Republic of North Korea's bold decision to test a missile yesterday, which flew over Japan and landed harmlessly in the ocean. While there were no casualties, injuries or damage from the launch, Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, issued a statement which read: "The outrageous act of firing a missile over our country is an unprecedented, serious and grave threat and greatly damages regional peace and security."
It's the 13th time North Korea has tested a missile this year and some experts fear that Pyongyang could be getting close to having a viable long-range nuclear missile. It's not the first time the DPRK has fired a missile over Japan, with the first being in 1998 and the second in 2009, however, Pyongyang insists those were satellites
Credit: PA
Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, spoke to US President Donald Trump for 40 minutes following the missile launch, according to The Guardian. The pair are asking for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the act.
North Korea recently enraged Mr Trump when leader Kim Jong-un threatened to send four ballistic missiles to Guam.
China has also condemned North Korea's missile test, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying saying: "Think hard about it, who do you think should take the blame, if China is urging all parties to calm down while one party holds constant military exercises ... and the other is constantly launching missiles?"
It comes amid the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise, which is a combined military exercise between South Korea and the United States.
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Sources: The Guardian, The Independent, The New York Times.
Topics: America, South Korea, Donald Trump, China, USA, North Korea, US