North Korea launched another ballistic missile on Sunday. The missile fell in the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula. South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that this was based on sources from the South Korean military.
North Korea has already launched two cruise missiles from a submarine last weekend and also fired missiles on Tuesday and Thursday, including the Hwasong-17. As far as is known, this is the largest intercontinental ballistic missile in the country’s possession.
According to Pyongyang, the missile was fired during an exercise as a “strong response” to the military exercises currently being conducted by South Korea and the United States. On Friday, North Korea described the US-South Korean military exercises as “provocative and aggressive”. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s regime has repeatedly accused the South Koreans and Americans of staging exercises in preparation for an attack. Washington and Seoul deny this.
The exercises, called Freedom Shield, are the largest joint military maneuvers between the two countries in five years. Allies said its focus was on strengthening South Korea’s defenses against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
The launch of the Hwasong-17 also came ahead of summit talks between South Korean President Yoon Sok Yul and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
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