North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Sunday, according to the Yonhap news agency, the latest launch as Seoul and Washington conduct their largest joint military drills in five years.
"North Korea is firing a ballistic missile towards the East Sea," said the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul, quoted by Yonhap, in reference to the Korean name for the Sea of Japan.
Seoul has been conducting military maneuvers with Washington since Monday, unprecedented in five years, intended to strengthen cooperation between the two allies in the face of the nuclear threat embodied by the North. Called "Freedom Shield", they should last ten days.
These exercises infuriate Pyongyang, which perceives them as rehearsals for an invasion of its territory and regularly promises an "overwhelming" response.
The launch comes after Pyongyang fired its most powerful missile, the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), on Thursday ahead of a visit to Japan by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The two neighbors resumed language at the highest level and decided to present a united front against the aggressiveness of North Korea.
It was the second ICBM test carried out by Pyongyang this year.
North Korean state media then called it a response to "frenzied" military exercises by South Korea and the United States.
Last year, North Korea declared its status as a nuclear power "irreversible", with its leader Kim Jong Un calling for an "exponential" increase in its military arsenal, including tactical nuclear weapons.
19/03/2023 08:50:55 - Seoul (AFP) © 2023 AFP
