East Asia is on high alert.

A week after the promise made by its leader Kim Jong-un to accelerate the development of the country's nuclear arsenal, North Korea launched a new missile.

A test which comes after the break, in March, a five-year moratorium on its tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), when Pyongyang had launched a projectile capable of reaching the United States.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement on Wednesday that a "ballistic missile launch by North Korea at 12:03 p.m." (0303 GMT) from Sunan, north of Pyongyang, towards the South Sea Japan.

The Japanese Coast Guard also announced the firing by North Korea of ​​a “potential ballistic missile”.

A possible nuclear warhead?

North Korea has already carried out more than ten shootings since the beginning of the year.

At a grand military parade on April 25, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un promised to "strengthen and develop our nation's nuclear capabilities at an accelerated pace."

"Nuclear weapons, a symbol of our national strength and at the center of our military power, must be enhanced in terms of quality and range," he said.

A few days later, he called the nuclear weapon "a lifeline guaranteeing the security of our country", and threatened to use it "as a preventive measure".

“There is a good chance that they tested (on Wednesday) a missile that could be equipped with a nuclear warhead,” Ahn Chan-il, a researcher specializing in North Korean affairs, told AFP.

The new launch also comes less than a week before the inauguration of new South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, a conservative who has promised to be tougher on his northern neighbor.

The missile test "could be a warning" for Yoon Suk-yeol, said Hong Min of the Korea Institute for National Unification, saying that Pyongyang will never accept the main condition set by the new South Korean leader. Korea to resume peace talks, namely the renunciation of nuclear weapons.

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