Seoul. North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea on Thursday (local time), the South Korean military said, days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised to prepare his nuclear weapons to fight his rivals.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a brief statement that the launch took place off North Korea’s eastern coast on Thursday morning, but gave no further details, such as how far the missile traveled.
The Japanese prime minister’s office also warned on its social media account that North Korea had allegedly launched a ballistic missile, without providing further details.
The launch is the first public weapons test the North Korean government has conducted in more than two months. On July 1, Pyongyang said it had tested a new tactical weapon capable of delivering a massive 4.5-ton warhead.
In a speech on Monday, Kim said he would step up efforts to make his nuclear force fully prepared to fight Washington and its allies. Kim said North Korea faces “a serious threat” because a U.S.-led regional military bloc has “recklessly grown” and taken on “the character of an alliance based on nuclear weapons.”
Kim has made similar promises numerous times, but made his latest threat at a time when outside experts believe the president will carry out a nuclear test explosion or launches to test long-range missiles before the U.S. presidential election in November.
Last week, North Korea also resumed launching balloons carrying trash toward South Korea.
Since 2022, Pyongyang has significantly accelerated its weapons tests in an attempt to hone its ability to strike the United States and South Korea. Those countries have responded with expanded military drills, which North Korea considers invasion rehearsals.
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– 2024-09-15 16:31:16
