Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul on Thursday denounced North Korea's latest ballistic missile launches as a threat to security on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, as he was attending a regional defense ministers' meeting in the Philippines. Earlier in the day, North Korea fired around a dozen short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea from the Wonsan area. The North's missile launches came as Kang was meeting with the defense chiefs of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its dialogue partners. "Today at this very moment, North Korea is threatening the Korean Peninsula and the regional security by firing a number of missiles," Kang said during a plenary session of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus). On the recent explosion caused by North Korean mines planted south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), Kang said the incident amounted to a "clear violation" of the Armistice Agreement that halted the 1950-53 Korean War and a "provocation." "It is difficult to check on the opponent's intentions when communication is ruptured, and mutual m