North Korea fires ballistic missile after warning of stronger nuclear deterrence

North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile into eastern waters, prompting alerts in Seoul and Tokyo. The test underlined rising tensions as Pyongyang linked its actions to US-led military drills.

In Short

• South Korea said the first weapon travelled about 450 kilometres eastward
• A second projectile was detected later, though its type remained undisclosed
• Seoul convened an emergency security meeting and urged Pyongyang to stop

North Korea on Sunday launched a short-range ballistic missile towards the sea, South Korea’s military said, in a fresh show of force days after Pyongyang threatened to strengthen its nuclear deterrent and respond to what it called US hostility.

South Korea said the missile flew about 450 kilometres towards the North’s eastern waters. Hours later, it said the North launched another projectile off its eastern coast, but did not give details on what type of weapon it was.

South Korea’s military said it had strengthened its surveillance posture and was closely sharing information on the launch with the United States and Japan. South Korea’s presidential office urged North Korea to immediately stop ballistic missile launches banned under UN Security Council resolutions, and said an emergency National Security Council meeting was held to discuss the launch.

Japan’s Defence Ministry said it had detected a suspected North Korean missile earlier in the day, but said it did not land in Japanese territorial waters. It did not say where it landed.

The launches came as North Korea continues a series of weapons tests even after US President Donald Trump scaled back a military exercise with South Korea last month in what appeared to be an effort to revive diplomacy with leader Kim Jong Un. Kim’s sister and senior official Kim Yo Jong dismissed Trump’s move, saying shortening the drill would not change its “provocative, aggressive nature”. North Korea’s military later launched about 10 short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea, apparently carrying out an earlier threat to respond to the US-South Korean exercise.

On Friday, Kim Yo Jong criticised another recent US-led multilateral maritime drill in the region as a “frantic military move” by the Americans aimed at prolonging their hegemony in the Asia-Pacific. The “Pacific Vanguard” exercise involved the US, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. She said “regular US-led war rehearsals” were the main reason for rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in the region. “Our will to defend our sovereignty will be expressed in clearer action and there will be never ever change in the course of intensifying the nuclear war deterrence,” she said.

Earlier this month, North Korea carried out what it described as a joint live-fire drill involving missiles, artillery and drones, a day after the United States, South Korea and Japan concluded a five-day trilateral military exercise that Pyongyang called a provocation. North Korea said the drill involved firing different types of weapons at the same time. Kim Jong Un has focused on expanding his nuclear arsenal since his earlier high-stakes diplomacy with Trump collapsed in 2019. When Trump ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise with South Korea, he pointed to what he called a good relationship with Kim, who has long described such drills as invasion rehearsals.

Earlier this year, Kim said he could return to talks if the US dropped what he called its “hostile policy” towards North Korea and recognised the country’s status as a nuclear state. Sunday’s launches added to that tense backdrop, with South Korea, the US and Japan monitoring the situation closely.

With PTI Inputs

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