2nd LD Writethru: DPRK fires short-range missiles as S.Korea, U.S. kick off war games

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired two short-range missiles into its eastern waters Monday when South Korea and the United States kick off their joint annual war games, Yonhap News Agency reported.

A Defense Ministry official was quoted as saying that the DPRK fired two missiles, estimated to be Scud ballistic missiles, from 6:32 a.m. to 6:41 a.m. local time from Nampo areas, South Pyongan Province.

Those missiles, launched from Nampo, the DPRK western coast city located southwest of capital Pyongyang, flied about 490 km across its territory into eastern waters.

The official said the South Koran military was closely watching possible provocations, including additional launch of missiles.

The launch came at the day when South Korea and the United States kick off their joint annual military exercises despite strong opposition from the DPRK.

The General Staff Department of the Korean People's Army of the DPRK said in a statement earlier that it will not sit on its hands with the war games, noting that those exercises are a rehearsal for the northward nuclear war to remove the DPRK leadership and occupy Pyongyang.

Seoul and Washington launched their joint annual war games Monday. The "Key Resolve" command post exercise will be held from March 2 to March 13, mobilizing about 10,000 South Korean troops and 8,600 U.S. forces.

The "Foal Eagle" filed training exercise will be conducted from March 2 to April 24, involving about 200,000 South Korean troops and 3,700 American soldiers, including 3,500 U.S. forces from overseas.

The "Foal Eagle" is a series of combined field maneuver exercise spanning ground, air, naval and special operations. Endi