North Korea has fired a ballistic missile towards its eastern waters, according to officials in Seoul.
This comes hours after threatening a “fiercer military response” to efforts by the United States to boost its security presence in the region.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the short-range ballistic missile was fired from North Korea’s Wonsan area on Thursday.
The missile flew around 240 kilometres and reached an altitude of 47 kilometres, the JCS said, adding that shortly before the launch, the South Korean and US militaries had staged a “pre-planned” missile defence exercise.
The South Korean military will continue to maintain a firm readiness posture, it said.
The North has tested a record number of missiles this year, including a possible failed intercontinental ballistic missile, while the US and South Korea have expanded the scope and scale of their joint military exercises.
Amid the tensions, leaders of the US, South Korea and Japan also held trilateral talks on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Cambodia last week and pledged to work together to further “strengthen deterrence”.
Quadri Adejumo covers World News, Health, Climate & Humanitarian.
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