North Korea launched an unspecified ballistic missile towards the Sea of Japan on Thursday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) has confirmed. The missile was fired off of North Korea’s eastern coast.
The South Korean Ministry of National Defense says that the missile was a short-range ballistic missile fired from Wŏnsan, a port city in the Kangwŏn Province at 10:48 a.m. KST.
The South Korean Ministry of National Defense said it is maintaining its readiness and is closely cooperating with the U.S. military.
The launch comes after North Korea warned that it will take “fiercer” military responses against the United States’ efforts to boost its presence in the region. North Korea criticized a trilateral summit between the United States, South Korea, and Japan that took place on November 13.
During the trilateral summit, leaders of all three countries criticized North Korea’s recent weapons tests. US President Joe Biden said at the conference that the three countries were “more aligned than ever” against Pyongyang’s “provocative behavior.”
Following the conference, DPRK minister of Foreign Affairs Choe Son Hui released a statement warning that the military drills would lead the Korean peninsula into an “unpredictable phase.”
The United States also met with China on November 14 and South Korea met with China on November 15. At the Korea-China summit, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol asked China to take a more active role in the North Korean nuclear weapons issue.
After he visited China, Biden said he made it clear to Chinese President Xi Jinping that China has an obligation to pressure North Korea to act responsibly.
Choe did not specifically mention what actions North Korea would take but said that the United States “will be well aware that it is gambling for which it will certainly regret.”
North Korea also criticized Japan for what it alleges is the oppression of pro-Pyongyang ethnic Koreans who live in Japan. During that condemnation, which was published by the official Korean Central News Agency, North Korea specifically mentioned the October 4 firing of an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan.
The South Korean military is analyzing the missile, including its launch site, speed, flight distance, and altitude. The missile landed somewhere in the East Sea.
Source: Agencies (edited by Al-Manar English Website)
