SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched one other ballistic missile towards its jap waters Thursday, officers stated, conducting its third spherical of weapons testing this week as South Korea and the US maintain joint navy workouts that Pyongyang considers a risk.
The most recent launch additionally got here hours earlier than South President Yoon Suk Yeol was to journey to Tokyo for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida aimed toward mending frayed ties and solidifying a trilateral safety cooperation with the US to counter North Korean threats.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Workers stated the launch occurred Thursday morning however didn’t instantly give additional particulars, comparable to how far the missile flew.
Pyongyang had already staged two launch occasions this week amid the U.S.-South Korean drills, which North Korea views as a rehearsal for invasion. The workouts are scheduled to proceed till March 23.
North Korea’s weapons checks have been extensively anticipated as its chief Kim Jong Un final week ordered his navy to be able to repel what he referred to as “frantic warfare preparations strikes” by his nation’s rivals.
Final yr Pyongyang test-fired greater than 70 missiles, together with nuclear-capable ones that would attain South Korea, Japan and the U.S. mainland. North Korea stated a lot of these checks had been a warning over earlier South Korean-U.S. navy drills.