SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea fired a ballistic missile Sunday, Seoul’s military said, just days after a United States aircraft carrier arrived for joint drills with the South in a show of force against Pyongyang.
With talks long-stalled, North Korea has doubled down on its banned nuclear weapons programs, even revamping its laws earlier this month to declare itself an “irreversible” nuclear power.
The Sunday launch is the latest in a record-breaking blitz of weapons tests by Pyongyang so far this year, including firing an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile at full range for the first time since 2017.
South of the border, hawkish new President Yoon Suk-yeol, who vowed on the campaign trail to get tough with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has ramped up South Korea’s joint drills with key security ally the United States.
Seoul’s military “detected one short range missile fired by North Korea at 6:53 today around Taechon in North Pyongan province towards the East Sea,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The missile flew around 600 kilometers (373 miles) at an altitude of around 60 kilometers, with maximum speed of around Mach 5, the JCS added in a statement.
“Our military maintains a full readiness posture and is closely cooperating with the US while strengthening surveillance and vigilance,” it said.
Japan’s coast guard issued a warning for ships after the launch, and Tokyo’s defense minister Yasukazu Hamada said the missile landed outside of Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
“The repeated ballistic missile launches by North Korea are absolutely unforgivable and the remarkable improvement in its missile technology is something we cannot overlook,” Hamada said.