North Korea conducts ballistic missile test days before US and South Korea begin drills
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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the sea on Thursday, its neighbors said, resuming weapons tests days before its rivals the U.S. and South Korea begin annual military drills that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal.
The launch from North Korea’s eastern coastal Wonsan area was detected around 5 p.m., South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding that South Korea’s military has bolstered its surveillance posture and is closely coordinating with the U.S. and Japan.
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters the missile landed in the waters off North Korea’s east coast and that there were no reports that the weapon reached Japanese territory.
Koizumi said North Korea’s repeated missile launches pose a threat to Japan and the region and that Tokyo lodged a protest to Pyongyang through their embassies in Beijing. South Korea’s presidential national security council called the North Korean ballistic launch “a provocation” that violates U.N. Security Council resolutions and urged the North to stop it.
