North Korea launched three short-range rockets off the country’s East Sea coast on Thursday morning, just as Pope
Francis was arriving on the west side of the Korean Peninsula at the beginning of a five-day visit to South
Korea.
A spokesperson for the ROK Joint Chiefs of
Staff told reporters shortly after the launches were picked up: “This morning at
09:30, 09:40 and 09:55, North Korea launched three consecutive short-range
rockets in a northeasterly direction from the vicinity of Wonsan.” Although the projectiles travelled more
than 200km, the launches took place without prior warning to aircraft or
shipping in the area.
The launches began just a few moments before
to the arrival of Pope Francis at Incheon International Airport, raising the suspicion
that they amount to North Korea’s opening response to his visit.
