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North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan east of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday night. According to Reuters, this was stated by South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. Since the beginning of the year, North Korea has launched a series of missile tests, violating the UN resolution.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was fired from a western inland city, flew over DPRK territory and then landed in waters off North Korea’s east coast. The South Korean military did not immediately release other details about the weapon, including exactly what type of missile it was or how far it flew.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tokyo was “doing everything” to gather information on the North Korean launch and confirm the safety of ships and aircraft, although no damage was reported.
North Korea fired the missile as a US aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea to take part in joint exercises with South Korean forces and days before a planned visit by US Vice President Kamala Harris. The North Korean threat is expected to be one of the main points of Harris’ visit after she attends the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo.
The office of the South Korean president also said on Saturday that it had seen indications that the DPRK was preparing to launch a ballistic missile from a submarine. However, the office did not announce what kind of knowledge it is exactly. According to the Kyodo agency, it is not customary for the South Korean president’s office to inform that it has knowledge of possible missile tests by its neighbor.