North Korea fired ballistic missile toward sea, says Seoul
- The launch comes as the US and South Korea prepare to hold their biggest combined military training exercises in years
- US Indo-Pacific Command says launch does not pose an ‘immediate threat’, but highlights the destabilising impact of North Korea’s nuclear programme
North Korea on Thursday fired a short-range ballistic missile toward waters off its Western coast, South Korea’s military said.
The launch came as the United States and South Korea prepare to hold their biggest combined military training exercises in years next week to counter the threat of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, which leader Kim Jong-un has aggressively expanded in recent years despite his country’s deepening economic isolation and pandemic-related difficulties.
The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was fired at around 6.20pm from an area near the Western coastal city of Nampo. There were no immediate assessments of how far it flew or where it landed.
The South Korean military strengthened its surveillance of North Korean activities while maintaining “full readiness” in close coordination with its ally, the US, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The US Indo-Pacific Command said the launch did not pose an “immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to our allies” but still highlighted the destabilising impact of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programme.
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The launch came after Kim’s powerful sister warned on Tuesday that her country is ready to take “quick, overwhelming action” against the United States and South Korea as the allies expand their military training to cope with a growing North Korean nuclear threat.