North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile toward waters off its east coast Thursday, adding to one of its biggest barrage of tests under leader Kim Jong Un that included its first launch of a rocket over Japan in five years.
The missile appears to have fallen into the sea, Japan’s Coast Guard said. The unspecified ballistic missile was fired in a direction to waters off the east coast, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Further details were not immediately available.
The launch came shortly after North Korea condemned the Biden administration for redeploying the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier group to waters east of the peninsula, saying the move escalated tensions.
“The DPRK is watching the US posing a serious threat to the stability of the situation on the Korean Peninsula and in its vicinity by redeploying the carrier task force in the waters off the Korean Peninsula,” the North Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on state media, referring to the country’s formal name.
The aircraft carrier group was redeployed to waters between South Korea and Japan, after making a visit to the South Korean port of Busan for joint military exercises from late September, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing military officials. Japan, South Korea and the U.S. are set for more joint military drills on Thursday, South Korean broadcaster SBS reported.
On Tuesday, North Korea fired a missile over Japan for the first time in five years while the U.S., Japan and South Korea said Pyongyang may be ready to conduct its first nuclear test in five years.
