North Korea on Monday belligerently challenged the international community by firing four ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan. The latest series of missile tests comes barely a month after the reclusive communist state conducted the first ballistic missile test since U.S. President Donald Trump assumed office.       

Like Us on Facebook

According to South Korean military officials, the missiles were fired at approximately 07:36 a.m. local time on Monday (22:36 GMT Sunday) from the Tongchang-ri region, which is located very close to North Korea-China border.

Japan was expectedly among the first countries to condemn Pyongyang's latest missile test since all the missiles fell in its territory. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo told the parliament that "strong protests" have been lodged with North Korea as he described the latest test as "extremely dangerous action" for the entire region.

The three missiles reportedly fell into Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), where Tokyo enjoys sovereign rights.

North Korea's adversarial neighbor and territorial rival South Korea was also quick to condemn the latest missile tests. South Korea's acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn immediately called for A meeting of the National Security Council's Standing Committee. He said the test signaled "a real and imminent threat to the safety of our people."

China, North Korea's only ally, has so far not issued any statement but is expected to cautiously condemn the latest missile tests. The Asian giant will most certainly come under renewed pressure from the international community to make more efforts to convince its communist ally to give up its controversial nuclear missile program.

Last month, China announced the most severe economic sanction against its communist neighbor. It announced a ban on coal from North Korea that would last until the end of this year. The ban is expected to cause severe economic loss to Pyongyang as coal is its most valuable export commodity.               

TagsNorth Korea, North Korea nuclear tests, china, North Korea Missile Program