North Korea fires ballistic missile, South Korean military says

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Saturday’s move by North Korea comes ahead of upcoming US-South Korea joint drills in Washington next week.

North Korea has fired a ballistic missile toward the sea off its east coast, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff has said.

Saturday’s move by North Korea comes ahead of upcoming US-South Korea table-top excersises in Washington next week.

“North Korea fires an unidentified ballistic missile into [the] East Sea,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

The top military officials did not say what type of missile was launched or how far it flew. Japan’s Coast Guard also said North Korea fired what could be a ballistic missile.

The launch came a day after North Korea’s Foreign Ministry threatened to take “unprecedentedly” strong action against South Korea after it announced planned military exercises.

The North Korean statement on Friday accused Washington and Seoul of planning more than 20 rounds of military drills this year, including large-scale field exercises, and described its rivals as “the arch-criminals deliberately disrupting regional peace and stability.”

The US tabletop exercise, scheduled for Wednesday, would set up possible scenarios where North Korea uses nuclear weapons and would explore how to cope with them militarily and formulate crisis management plans, South Korea’s Defense Ministry has aid.

“With a focus on North Korea’s nuclear threats, both sides will have in-depth discussions on various measures to strengthen US extended deterrence, including information sharing and consultation procedures,” the ministry said in a statement.

Heo Tae-keun, South Korea’s deputy minister of national defense policy, also told legislators on Friday the two countries would hold a joint field exercises in mid-March that would be bigger than those held in the past few years.

The latest launch follows a record year for North Korean weapons demonstrations, with Pyongyang firing more than 70 ballistic missiles fired, including intercontinental ballistic missiles with the potential range to reach the US mainland.

North Korea has also conducted several launches it described as simulated nuclear attacks against South Korean and US targets, while passing a law that declared the country an “irreversibly” nuclear state.

The increased activity from Pyongyang has been met with ramped up joint military drills from South Korea and key allies.

That followed a scaled back period amid the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a fruitless diplomatic offensive by former US President Donald Trump.