WAR GAMES

North Korea ‘Fires Short-Range Missiles’

Vows to liquidate all South Korean assets.

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Thursday, announcing it would liquidate all South Korean assets and shut down inter-Korean cooperative projects in the North. Most of South Korea’s assets in the North are in the jointly-operated Kaesong industrial zone, which Seoul pulled out of in February. The moves come a day after Pyongyang claimed scientists had developed nuclear warheads small enough to fit on ballistic missiles. Seoul’s defense ministry said it thought the North had “not yet secured miniaturized nuclear warheads.” The missile launches are seen as Pyongyang’s response to the UN’s decision to impose some of its strictest sanctions and as U.S. and South Korean forces conduct their annual joint military exercises.