North Korea launched a projectile towards the sea this Saturday, South Korea and Japan reported. Tokyo said it may have been a ballistic missile, while the United States and South Korea carried out military exercises.
The projectile was fired towards the sea, off the east coast of North Korea, the South Korean army said in a brief message to the press. No further details were provided. The Japanese coast guard said the projectile apparently fell into the sea.
Apparently, the location was outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported, citing Defense Ministry sources.
Five days earlier, Seoul and Washington had begun major military exercises, which they said are purely defensive and aimed at testing readiness against military threats from North Korea.
North Korea, which possesses nuclear weapons, often expresses its anger and objections to these exercises, saying they are “dress rehearsals” for armed aggression against it by its allies.
On Thursday, South Korea’s prime minister met with US President Donald Trump in Washington to discuss ways to resume dialogue with the North, which has been suspended since 2019.
