Japan said North Korea launched an object suspected to be a ballistic missile, with its Defence Ministry later estimating that it had fallen.
South Korea detected the launch from the Wonsan area and described it as a provocation ahead of the annual US-South Korea military drills.
The launch marks North Korea’s second reported missile test in less than a week, amid its continued development of nuclear and missile capabilities.
Japan Sounds Alarm As North Korea Launches Suspected Ballistic Missile
North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Wednesday, Japan said, just days before the US and South Korea kick off joint military drills
Summary
The Japanese Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday issued an emergency alert saying North Korea had launched a suspected ballistic missile. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi immediately instructed relevant officials to make every effort to gather information and provide it to the public in a timely and appropriate manner.
The ballistic missile test comes days before the US and South Korea are set to begin joint military drills. North Korea has focused on expanding its nuclear and missile arsenals since leader Kim Jong Un’s diplomacy with US President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019, according to the Associated Press.
What Does Japan Say About North Korea Missile Launch?
Japan’s Defence Ministry initially said an object suspected to be a ballistic missile had been launched from North Korea. It later said it estimated that the object had already fallen.
North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea, marking its second such launch in less than a week, in an apparent protest against the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States, according to Yonhap News Agency.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the missile being launched from the Wonsan area on the east coast at around 6 am.
Launch Comes Ahead Of US-South Korea Drills
South Korea’s Presidential Office described North Korea’s latest ballistic missile launch as a provocation. In an emergency meeting, the office called for a halt to such acts. Earlier on August 6, North Korea had launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the waters off its east coast.
The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that they detected the launch from North Korea’s eastern coastal Wonsan area around 5pm (local time).
Earlier on June 4, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a newly revealed facility producing weapons-grade nuclear material and declared his intention to expand the country's nuclear forces "at an exponential rate," state media reported on Thursday, adding fresh urgency to global non-proliferation concerns at a moment when the United States is already locked in negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme.
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The Korean Central News Agency said the plant employed "more sophisticated technology" but did not disclose its location or when it became operational.
State media photographs indicated the facility likely to posses enrich weapons-grade uranium and warhead design.
Kim claimed that North Korea's capacity to produce weapons-grade nuclear material has more than doubled over the past five years, though there is no independent means of verifying that assertion.
He praised the country's nuclear scientists for delivering on the goals of a five-year plan and said the nuclear potential being built was "inconceivable."
Officials from the munitions industry and the Nuclear Weapons Institute accompanied the visit — a signal, analysts noted, that the programme has shifted from research and development towards mass production.
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