North Korea fired a ballistic missile over the sea east of the Korean peninsula in the early hours of Sunday, the South Korean military said.
The move comes not even 24 hours after North Korea launched three ballistic missiles on Saturday.
The short-range ballistic missile was fired at around 02:50 a.m. local time (1750 GMT) from the surroundings of the capital Pyongyang, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The missile flew about 400 kilometers (249 miles) before landing in the sea. yonhap the news agency said, citing the military.
The US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that while the launch did not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to Washington’s allies, it highlighted the destabilizing impact of North Korea’s weapons program. .
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada has protested against North Korea over the launch, Kyodo News reported on Sunday.
The launch follows an unprecedented number of missile tests by North Korea in 2022 as Pyongyang continues weapons development amid speculation it could test a nuclear weapon for the seventh time.
In 2022, North Korea also resumed ICBM testing for the first time since 2017, successfully launching the massive new Hwasong-17, which is believed to have the range to strike anywhere in the United States.
North Korean state media KCNA said on Saturday that its central party participated in the fifth day of a plenary session on Friday to solidify the strategy, and the session is expected to continue, making it the longest in history according to yonhap. The results of the session could be known as soon as Sunday.
