North Korea fires ballistic missile – Seoul

12.07.2023 09:51

North Korea fires ballistic missile – Seoul
Photo: Anthony Wallace / AFP

North Korea launched a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan on Wednesday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) has said. The show of force comes after Pyongyang had accused the US of flying a spy aircraft over its exclusive economic zone.

The launch was confirmed by Tokyo. The missile, which was fired at around 10 am local time, was expected to fall into the sea 550 kilometers (341 miles) east of the Korean Peninsula, Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said, as cited by Kyodo News.

On Monday, Kim Yo-jong, Pyongyang’s senior foreign policy official and the sister of national leader Kim Jong-un, promised “clear and resolute” repercussions against Washington. She said that jets were scrambled to ward off an American warplane that was detected inside the North's 200-nautical-mile economic zone.

The reported demonstration took place after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had both left to attend a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. The leaders will meet on the sidelines of the event on Wednesday.

Pyongyang insists that missile launches are its response to joint US-South Korean military exercises, which it views as a rehearsal for an invasion. The US, meanwhile, accuses North Korea of dangerous escalation and maintains that such weapons tests are illegal under international law.