North Korea fired an “unidentified projectile” on Thursday. That’s what the South Korean military says. Pyongyang thus continues a series of launches since the beginning of the year. The projectile fell in an exclusive economic zone of Japan, Japan’s defense ministry said.
“North Korea fired an unidentified projectile in an easterly direction,” the South Korean chiefs of staff said in a statement. It may be a long-range missile. The rocket flew for 71 minutes and ended up in the sea about 150 kilometers off the Oshima Peninsula, the southernmost part of the island of Hokkaido.
Since the beginning of this year, Pyongyang has already conducted more than ten weapons tests. Two were described by North Korea as “reconnaissance satellite” launches, but South Korea and the United States said they also included tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
North Korea is prohibited from conducting missile tests under United Nations resolutions. Pyongyang has been developing missiles that could be equipped with nuclear warheads for years. Harsh international sanctions are therefore in place against the North Korean regime.
Pyongyang has also declined any offer of dialogue since negotiations between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and then-US President Donald Trump failed in 2019.
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