North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Wednesday toward the sea off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast, South Korean and Japanese authorities said, days ahead of major joint military exercises by Seoul and Washington long denounced by Pyongyang.
The missile was launched from the Wonsan area on North Korea’s east coast at around 6 a.m. (2100 GMT Tuesday), South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, six days after North Korea fired another ballistic missile from the same area.
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The launch comes ahead of South Korean and US military drills, dubbed Ulchi Freedom Shield, scheduled for August 17 to 27, aimed at countering Pyongyang’s evolving nuclear and weapons capabilities.
Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said the launch was likely part of North Korea’s existing weapons development schedule, but the timing could also have been selected to send a message ahead of the US-South Korean exercises.
