Pacific Command

North Korea has launched three short range ballistic missiles. Apparently, two of them had an unsuccessful flight, and a third exploded almost immediately after the launch. This was stated by the US Army, and they were not a threat to North America or Guam, Reuters reported.

North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile on April 29 in apparent defiance of a concerted US push for tougher international sanctions to curb Pyongyang's nuclear weapons ambitions.

The United States military started installing a controversial antimissile defense system in South Korea overnight Tuesday, triggering protests and sparking criticism that it was rushing to get the battery in place before the likely election of a president who opposes it.

China says it is seriously concerned about North Korean nuclear development, in the wake of a BBC interview with a top official from the North.

North Korea’s vice-foreign minister told the BBC Pyongyang would continue to test missiles and would launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike if it thought the US was planning an attack.

Photo: US Navy

When U.S. President Donald Trump boasted early last week that he had sent an "armada" as a warning to North Korea, the aircraft carrier strike group he spoke of was still far from the Korean peninsula, and headed in the opposite direction.

Beijing has warned Washington against actions which would challenge China's "sovereignty and security," following reports that the US is planning naval patrols in the disputed South China Sea.