North Korea fires ballistic missile toward sea, South Korea says

North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters on Wednesday, its neighbors said, marking the country’s second weapons test in less than a week.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the launch around 6 a.m. from the North’s eastern coastal area near Wonsan. Seoul said it had strengthened surveillance and was closely coordinating with the US and Japan over the launch.

Japan’s Defense Ministry also detected what appeared to be a ballistic missile launch but said there was no indication that the weapon entered Japan’s exclusive economic zone, suggesting it fell farther from the Japanese coast.

The launch came two days after South Korea and the US announced that their annual large-scale military exercises would begin next week. The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield drills are scheduled to start on August 17, with about 18,000 South Korean troops expected to participate.

North Korea has routinely responded to major US-South Korea military exercises with weapons tests and threats, calling the drills rehearsals for an invasion. Washington and Seoul maintain that the exercises are defensive.

The latest test follows a short-range ballistic missile launch detected by South Korea, the US and Japan on August 6. That was North Korea’s first reported ballistic weapons test since late June, although Pyongyang did not acknowledge the launch.

North Korea has continued developing and testing its weapons since diplomatic efforts between leader Kim Jong Un and then-US President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019 over disagreements on sanctions relief and denuclearisation.