North Korea fired a ballistic missile towards the waters off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast on Wednesday, South Korean and Japanese authorities said, just days before major joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington.
South Korea’s military and Japan’s Defence Ministry said the missile travelled about 700km (435 miles) before landing in the sea outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The launch prompted South Korean authorities to convene an emergency security meeting, with officials expressing concern over North Korea’s continued missile tests following another launch on August 6.
South Korea urged Pyongyang to stop what it described as provocations that violate United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The South Korean military also said it was maintaining a high level of readiness and would respond “overwhelmingly” to any provocation under its combined defence posture with the United States.
Japan also strongly condemned the launch. Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Tokyo had lodged a formal protest with North Korea through diplomatic channels.
Japan said the missile reached a maximum altitude of around 90km (56 miles) before falling into waters outside the country’s EEZ.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the missile was launched from the Wonsan area on North Korea’s east coast at around 6am local time.
The test came shortly before South Korea and the United States are due to conduct major joint military exercises from August 17 to 27, aimed at strengthening their response to North Korea’s growing nuclear and weapons capabilities.
North Korean state media had already criticised Japan’s latest defence white paper on Tuesday, accusing Tokyo of portraying Pyongyang as a security threat to justify increased military spending and an arms build-up.
North Korea has carried out a series of weapons tests this year, involving ballistic missiles, artillery rockets and other tactical systems.
There was no immediate official response from Pyongyang regarding Wednesday’s launch.
Separately, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had used a North Korean ballistic missile in an attack on Ukraine on Tuesday that killed seven workers at a steel plant in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia.
