Pyongyang fires a "ballistic missile" a few days before the presidential election in South Korea

The Korean military reported a missile launch from North Korea.

REUTERS - KIM HONG-JI

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

According to Seoul, North Korea fired a "ballistic missile".

It would be the ninth missile test by Pyongyang since the start of the year.

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The South Korean army said on Saturday March 5 that it had detected "

".

South Korea's National Security Council has condemned Pyongyang's "

 " which undermines peace on the Korean peninsula and internationally, the presidency said in a statement, as the country is due to elect its new president on Wednesday.

Seven trials

Despite draconian international sanctions, Pyongyang carried out seven weapons tests in January, including its most powerful missile since 2017. On February 28, North Korea announced that it had carried out

test. for the development of a reconnaissance satellite, Seoul speaking for its part of a ballistic missile.

► To read also: North Korea would have launched its most powerful missile since 2017

Pyongyang has so far rejected all offers of dialogue since the breakdown in 2019 of talks between leader Kim Yong-un and then-US President Donald Trump.

The country has since redoubled its efforts to modernize its military, threatening in January to break the self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile testing.

Major test on April 15?

Analysts believe Pyongyang could use the most important date on its political calendar, the 110th anniversary of its founder Kim Il Sung's birth on April 15, to conduct a major weapons test.

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• North Korea

• South Korea