North Korea launched a ballistic missile to the east coast a few days after the arrival of a US aircraft carrier for joint exercises and close to the visit, scheduled for Thursday, by US Vice President Kamala Harris.
The South Korean army said it was a single short-range ballistic missile fired from the Taechon area of Pyongyan province shortly before 7am.
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada explained that the missile was estimated to have reached a maximum altitude of 50 km and may have traveled an irregular trajectory.
Hamada added that the missile fell outside Japan's exclusive economic zone and that no problems with navigation or air traffic were reported.
Many of the short-range missiles Pyongyan tested in recent years have been designed to evade missile defenses by flying on a lower, "depressed" trajectory, experts said.
"
If you include cruise missile launches, this is the nineteenth launch, an unprecedented pace. North Korea's action poses a threat to the peace and security of our country, the region and the international community. this while the invasion of Ukraine is unfolding is unforgivable
, "continued Hamada, adding that Japan filed a protest through the North Korean embassy in Beijing.
The launch comes after the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Uss Ronald Reagan arrives in South Korea to participate in joint exercises with South Korean forces and ahead of Harris' visit to Seoul scheduled for this week.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will meet with Harris on Thursday, following the visit of President Joe Biden in May and US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last month.
It is the first time that the North has made such a launch after firing eight short-range ballistic missiles in a single day in early June, which has led the United States to demand additional sanctions for violating the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.
North Korea rejected UN resolutions as a violation of its sovereign right to self-defense and space exploration and criticized previous joint US and South Korean exercises as evidence of their hostile policies.
The exercises were also criticized by Russia and China, which urged all parties not to take action that would increase tensions in the region and called for an easing of sanctions.
After North Korea conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests earlier this year, including its ICBMs for the first time since 2017, the US and Seoul have decided to step up drills and power demonstrations. military to discourage Pyongyang
.
Washington is the country's main security ally and has deployed some 28,500 troops.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that Pyongyang may also be preparing to test a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), citing the Southern military.