North Korea launched a ballistic missile on Monday towards the Sea of Japan, also called the East Sea, the South Korean army announced, the day of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Seoul .
“North Korea launched an unknown ballistic missile towards the East Sea,” the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
This is the first missile test by North Korea this year. The last shots, a salvo of short-range ballistic missiles, took place on November 6, a few hours before the presidential election in the United States.
The previous week North Korea tested what it said was its new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the most advanced in its arsenal.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense also announced, on X, that it had detected a missile launch from North Korea.
This shot comes the day Antony Blinken makes a farewell tour to Seoul and Tokyo before Donald Trump arrives at the White House.
It also comes at a time when South Korea is plunged into one of the worst political crises in its history, after the failed proclamation of martial law by President Yoon Suk Yeol who was subsequently dismissed and is threatened with arrest.
Blinken and Seoul condemn the shooting
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul on Monday condemned North Korea’s firing of a ballistic missile, which came just as the former was visiting Seoul.
“We condemn the DPRK’s missile launch just today, another violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions,” Antony Blinken said at a joint press conference with Cho Tae-yul, using the official acronym of North Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
