NK Projectile Launch

[Anchor Lead]

North Korea has opened the week by firing four projectiles Monday morning according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. Here’s more on this developing story.

[Pkg]

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says that North Korea fired unidentified projectiles into the East Sea from Dongchang-ri, Pyonganbuk-do Province, at around 7:36 a.m. Monday. The JCS added that the North has presumably fired four projectiles with a range of around one thousand kilometers. Three of the projectiles are believed to have landed in Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone. Experts are focusing on the possibility that the fired missiles are either mid-range Rodong missiles or Scud-ER missiles. The JCS said that South Korea and the United States are closely analyzing whether the fired projectiles are intercontinental ballistic missiles. On February 12, the North test-fired its Pukguksong-2, a new solid-fuel submarine-launched ballistic missile. Some say that the missiles fired on Monday may be of a completely new type that has never been tested before. The assumption is based on a March 3 report by the North's Rodong Sinmun saying that Pyongyang could fire new type of independent strategic weapons in addition to the Pukguksong-2 in protest of the Foal Eagle military exercise jointly held by South Korea and the U.S. Observers say Pyongyang's Monday missile provocation is an expression of its protest against the military drill. South Korea's military stressed that it is closely monitoring Pyongyang's actions and remaining on high alert.