South Korea fires ballistic missiles in live-fire drill after North Korea nuclear test

South Korea is holding live-fire military drills on Monday, 4 September, a day after rival North Korea conducted a nuclear test. Both ground-based and air-based ballistic missiles were launched by the South Korean forces.

The North Korean regime carried out its sixth nuclear test on Sunday, 3 September, amid rising tensions in the region. This drew widespread condemnation from across the world with the global community mulling harsher measures to rein in Pyongyang.

South Korea's target practice includes Punggye-ri, North Korea's nuclear test site. F-15K fighter jets and Hyunmoo ballistic missile system were used to strike mock targets.

"The training demonstrates the South Korean military's resolve to destroy not only the origin of provocation but also the enemy's leadership and supporting forces if they threaten the security of our people," Army Colonel Roh Jae-cheon, spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a press conference.

"We staged the real-distance shooting exercise, simulating the Punggye-ri area as the origin of provocation," he added. South Korea is also planning to hold more such counter-measures along with the US.

Pyongyang claimed it had tested a hydrogen bomb, which is significantly more powerful than an atomic bomb, sparking alarm both inside and outside the Korean peninsula.

The UN Security Council is to hold an emergency session on Monday to discuss the situation. The meeting is expected to consider more sanctions against the Kim Jong-un regime.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in also held a telephone call with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on handling the crisis. "Both heads of state agreed to cooperate closely with each other and the United States and shared the understanding there must be the most powerful sanctions and pressure applied on North Korea," said a statement from the South Korean president.