North Korea Fired Ballistic Missile Off East Coast, Says South Korea: Report

Seol: North Korea launched a ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, Al Jazeera reported.

North Korea’s move comes ahead of next week’s joint drills between the United States and South Korea in Washington.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff stated, in reference to the Sea of Japan, that “North Korea fires an unidentified ballistic missile into [the] East Sea.”

According to Al Jazeera, Japan’s Coast Guard also stated that North Korea fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile.

The launch came a day after North Korea’s Foreign Ministry threatened South Korea with “unprecedentedly” strong action after it announced the planned military exercises, as per the report.

According to the South Korean military, North Korea launched two medium-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea in December.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of South Korea said it detected the launches between 11:13 am and 12:05 pm (local time) from the Tongchang-RI area of North Pyongan Province.

The missiles were fired at steep angles and flew around 500 kilometres, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.