North Korea has fired what appears to be an intermediate-range ballistic missile toward the sea to its east, South Korea’s military said, in Pyongyang’s first missile launch in two months.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said around noon local time (03:00 GMT) that the missile had already fallen into the sea.
The launch comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Seoul for talks with some of South Korea’s key leaders.
Earlier on Monday, Blinken met with Acting President Choi Sang-mok, where he described the alliance between Washington and Seoul as “a cornerstone of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”
South Korea’s military says it has stepped up surveillance for future missile launches by the North and is “closely sharing information” about today’s launch with the US and Japan.
Today’s launch also comes amid political chaos in South Korea, which has gripped the country for weeks after President Yoon Suk Yeol was suspended a short-lived attempt at martial law in December.
Yoon, who was stripped of his presidential powers after lawmakers voted to impeach him, now faces arrest. The Constitutional Court also decides whether it should be dismissed.
Pyongyang previously mocked Yoon’s shocking declaration of martial law as “crazy act” and accused Yoon of “brazenly brandishing the blades and weapons of a fascist dictatorship against his own people.”
The international community considers North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a dictator. The Kim family ruled the hermit nation for decades by developing and promoting a cult of personality.
The last time Pyongyang fired missiles was in November, the day before the US presidential election, when it launched at least seven short-range ballistic missiles towards its east coast.
Earlier in the week, the US flew a long-range bomber during trilateral military exercises with South Korea and Japan in a show of power that drew condemnation from Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong.
