According to the Japanese Ministry of Defense, the projectile traveled a distance of 300 kilometers and reached an altitude of 550 kilometers. Japan will partner with the United States to collect and analyze information about the launch.
North Korea has already made eight launches this year, seven of them in January. The most recent missile test was on February 27.
The new launch comes shortly before the presidential election in South Korea on March 9. Leading conservative presidential candidate Yoon Suk-Yeol warned last month that North Korea could view the situation in Ukraine as “an opportunity to launch its own provocation.”