North Korea launches a ballistic missile towards the Sea of ​​Japan

North Korea launched an unspecified ballistic missile on Monday, the South Korean military announced.

Yonhap News Agency quoted the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying, “North Korea launched an unspecified ballistic missile toward the East Sea,” referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of ​​Japan, without providing further details.

This launch of a missile believed to be ballistic is the second of its kind carried out by Pyongyang in 2024, after its launch on January 14 of a missile equipped with a hypersonic warhead . 

The test comes a few days after Seoul and Washington concluded their large-scale annual “Freedom Shield” exercises, which included exercises to intercept missiles and air attacks. The number of participating forces has doubled compared to 2023.

North Korea warned the United States and South Korea that they would pay a "heavy price" for the maneuvers, before announcing that its leader, Kim Jong Un, had supervised a large-scale artillery maneuver in which border units participated, "putting the enemy's capital within their reach."

Since the beginning of the year, Pyongyang has classified Seoul as its “main enemy,” closed agencies dedicated to inter-Korean reunification and dialogue, and threatened to go to war in the event of any violation of its territory “even if it is only 0.001 mm.”

On Monday, the United States condemned North Korea's launch of a ballistic missile, coinciding with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's visit to South Korea.

A US State Department spokesman said: “These launches, like previous ballistic missile launches in recent years, violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions.”

He stressed that "these operations threaten North Korea's neighbors and undermine regional security."

He added, "We remain committed to a diplomatic approach and call on North Korea to dialogue," stressing at the same time that: "Our commitment to defending Japan and South Korea remains firm."