North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the sea on Wednesday, the South Korean military said, according to Yonhap news agency.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had detected the launch but gave no details and said analysis was ongoing.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s office confirmed on X that North Korea had launched a suspected ballistic missile.
Regarding the projectile fired toward the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, it said, “The suspected ballistic missile coming from North Korea is not expected to reach Japan.”
The launch comes amid rising tensions across the border, as the reclusive communist state has been sending balloons carrying trash into South Korea.
The last missile launch by North Korea was on May 30, when Seoul accused Pyongyang of firing about 10 short-range ballistic missiles.
A day later, North Korean state media released photos of leader Kim Jong Un supervising tests of a multiple-rocket launcher system.
Analysts have suggested that nuclear-armed North Korea could test and increase production of artillery and cruise missiles before shipping them to Russia for use in Ukraine.
In a report last month, the Pentagon said it had confirmed the behavior.
North Korea sent more garbage-filled balloons toward the South this week, Seoul’s military said on Tuesday, the latest in a series of bombings across the border that have sparked a disinformation campaign.
Pyongyang has already sent up more than a thousand balloons carrying garbage, which it says is in retaliation for activists launching propaganda balloons critical of Kim’s rule into the North.
In response, Seoul has completely suspended the de-escalation military agreement and resumed some propaganda broadcasts over loudspeakers along the border.
Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un’s sister and a chief government spokeswoman, warned this month that Seoul would “undoubtedly witness new retaliatory measures from the DPRK” if the leaflet drops and loudspeaker broadcasts continued.
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