North Korea fires several missiles into the sea near South Korea hours after issuing a stark warning to its neighbours and US

INA-  sources 

A missile fired by North Korea has scraped the South Korean coastline in dramatic escalation of tensions between the neighbouring countries.

The South Korean military reported North Korea fired more than 10 missiles of various ranges into the sea "east and west" of the peninsula on Wednesday.
One of the missiles landed less than 60 kilometres off South Korea’s coast, which officials said was the first time a missile had landed so close to the South’s waters.

Residents on the South Korean island of Ulleungdo woke to the sound of air-raid sirens, after the close-ranging missiles triggered a rare warning signal just before 9am.


A county official spoke of having to evacuate people into basements on the island after the siren sounded, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency. 
The launch came just hours after North Korea issued a threat to its southern neighbour and the United States conducting large-scale military exercises this week.

The joint military drills began on Monday and involve hundreds of airplanes conducting mock attacks 24 hours a day until Friday.

Pyongyang warned Washington of “powerful follow-up measures” if they continued their “grave military provocations”.

Our military can never tolerate North Korea's provocative act and will sternly respond to it in close cooperation with the U.S.," it said in a statement.
North Korea has carried out over 40 missile launches in 2022 in a strong signal the diplomatically secluded nation is beefing up its military might.

US intelligence reports have alleged Pyongyang is preparing for its first nuclear bomb test since 2017.

Source: SKY NEWS AUSTRALIA