Seoul Feb 18 (EFE).- North Korea on Saturday fired an apparently long-range ballistic missile in the Sea of Japan – called the East Sea in the two Koreas – the South Korean military said in a statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff did not offer details about the launch immediately, the second carried out by Pyongyang in 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, later the JCS said that it believed the projectile to have been a long-range ballistic missile, which was fired from the North Korean capital’s Sunan area at 5.22 pm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile Japanese state broadcaster NHK cited government sources to report that the missile may have fallen in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sunan, which houses Pyongyang’s international airport, is the spot from where the regime has launched its intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-17 – the longest in its arsenal – more than once. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Friday, North Korea had threatened an “unprecedented” response to the joint military exercises that Seoul and Washington are set to carry out in March. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United States and South Korea are also scheduled to hold a joint computer simulation drill next week to prepare for a potential nuclear attack by Pyongyang. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2022, North Korea test-fired a record number of missiles – around 50 – often in response to joint military drills by the US and South Korea and after Pentagon deployed strategic assets in the peninsula. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Satellite photos have shown that the regime’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site has been fully refurbished for almost year and is ready for a fresh atomic test. EFE<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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