North Korea launches 'unidentified ballistic missile'
The South Korean military displays the wreckage of a missile fired by its northern neighbor.
Reuters
North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile yesterday, the South Korean military said, in Pyongyang's latest test, following a record number of missile launches earlier this month.
The South Korean military said it detected a short-range ballistic missile launched by North Korea (towards) the East Sea (also known as the Sea of Japan), from Sokcheon in South Pyongan Province.
"By strengthening surveillance and vigilance, the South Korean military maintains its full readiness, while cooperating closely with the United States," she added.
Japan also confirmed the launch, with the government tweeting that Pyongyang had "launched what is believed to be a ballistic missile".
The launch comes as the United States counts votes in mid-term elections that the Seoul intelligence agency had earlier warned could be an occasion for Kim Jong Un to conduct a long-anticipated nuclear test.
Earlier this month, North Korea carried out a series of launches, including a ballistic missile, which Seoul said appeared to have failed.
Pyongyang also launched a ballistic missile across the line that represents the actual maritime border between the two countries, and landed near the territorial waters of South Korea.
South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol described the operation at the time as a "de facto invasion".
The two launches were part of a series that began on November 2, when Pyongyang launched 23 missiles, more than it did in all of 2017, when Kim Jong Un and former US President Donald Trump faced off violently via state media and Twitter.
Seoul and Washington have been warning for months that North Korea is preparing to conduct a new nuclear test, which will be the seventh in its history.
But experts question the usefulness of trying to predict the exact time when it will be executed.
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