North Korea fires ballistic missile into Sea of ​​Japan

North Korea fired at least one unidentified projectile towards its east sea, in its second launch this week.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff did not say whether the projectile was ballistic or how far it traveled.

The move appears to continue a string of provocations in weapons shows that could culminate with a nuclear test in the coming weeks or months.

South Korean authorities said the missile was likely launched from a submarine into waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula.

According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, it was fired at 2:57 a.m. local time from the Sinpo area on the east coast of North Korea.

The Japan Coast Guard confirmed the shell landed in the Sea of ​​Japan, also known as the East Sea, at 2:25 a.m. local time.

The launch comes three days after the South Korean and Japanese militaries detected North Korea firing a suspected ballistic missile from near the country’s capital Pyongyang on Wednesday.

It was carried out three days before the inauguration of South Korean president-elect Yoon Suk Yeol, who has vowed to take a tougher approach to North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

The most recent launch may have been North Korea’s 15th missile launch this year, an unusually fast pace that experts say underscores a sinister move to force the United States to accept the idea of ​​North Korea being considered. nuclear power and lifting crippling sanctions.

For comparison, North Korea has only conducted four tests in 2020 and eight in 2021.

There are also signs that North Korea is restoring tunnels at a nuclear test site that last operated in 2017 in preparation for a nuclear explosion test.

At a military parade on April 25, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to accelerate the development of nuclear weapons at the “highest possible rate”.