North Korea is once again flexing its muscles. Pyongyang fired a short-range ballistic missile on Sunday (March 18th), according to the South Korean military, its fourth show of force in a week as Seoul and Washington conduct their largest joint military exercises in five years.

"Our military detected a short-range ballistic missile fired from the vicinity of the Tongchang-ri area in northwest China's North Pyongan province at 11:05 a.m. (2:05 GMT) toward the East Sea," the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, referring to Korea's name for the Sea of Japan.

U.S. and South Korean intelligence are analyzing the projectile, which flew 800 kilometers, the JCS said in a statement, calling the launch a "serious provocation" in violation of UN sanctions.

The JCS added that the army stands ready to respond in an "overwhelming" manner, while continuing "intensive and thorough military maneuvers and exercises".

Seoul and Washington have been conducting their largest military maneuvers in five years since Monday, which are supposed to strengthen their cooperation in the face of the growing threat from the North. Dubbed "Freedom Shield", they are scheduled to last until March 23.

The US military's Indo-Pacific Command also condemned the launch, which highlights the "destabilizing impact" of North Korea's banned weapons programs.

Tokyo also confirmed the shooting while condemning it "vehemently" through its embassy in Beijing, Vice Defense Minister Toshiro Ino told reporters.

According to Japanese media citing unnamed government sources, the projectile appears to have fallen out of Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) after following an irregular trajectory.

The exercises by Seoul and Washington infuriate Pyongyang, which sees them as rehearsals for an invasion of its territory and regularly promises an "overwhelming" response.

They are "approaching an unforgivable red line," North Korea's official KCNA news agency said Saturday.

'Frenetic' military exercises

Sunday's launch comes a day after KCNA announced that "more than 800,000" young volunteers determined to "ruthlessly annihilate the war-obsessed" have joined the military to fight "the American imperialists."

On Thursday, Pyongyang launched its Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the most powerful in its arsenal, in the presence of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter, and just before a visit to Japan by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Cold for years due to a historical dispute, the two neighbors have resumed language at the highest level and decided to present a united front against North Korea.

Yoon Suk Yeol also announced the reactivation of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA). This pact, signed in 2016 but called into question in 2019 by Seoul due to diplomatic tensions, allows the exchange of military information.

It was Pyongyang's second ICBM test this year on Thursday, which KCNA called a response to "frenetic" military exercises by South Korea and the United States.

The launch itself came after two short-range ballistic missiles were launched on Tuesday and, on March 12, two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine.

Experts had warned that Pyongyang would likely use the drills as a pretext to fire more missiles and possibly even conduct a nuclear test, which would be the seventh in its history and the first since 2017.

Last year, North Korea declared its status as a nuclear power "irreversible" and Kim Jong Un called for an "exponential" increase in the country's military arsenal, including tactical nuclear weapons.

Earlier this month, the leader ordered the military to step up its own maneuvers in preparation for a "real war."

With AFP

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