Early this morning, North Korea fired another ballistic missile from its east coast into the East Sea (Sea of Japan), South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the projectile was detected at around 06:00 local time (21:00 GMT on Tuesday) and was launched from the coastal city of Wonsan.
This is the second serious military provocation by Pyongyang in the past six days, after Kim Jong-un's regime tested another short-range ballistic missile on August 6. According to initial data from the Seoul Ministry of Defense, the projectile flew a distance of over 700 kilometers with a maximum trajectory altitude of about 90 kilometers before falling into the sea waters outside Japan's exclusive economic zone.
Notice of large-scale military exercises
The current test takes place just days before South Korea and the United States launch their annual large-scale joint military maneuvers “Ulchi Freedom Shield“, planned for the period from August 17 to 27. Pyongyang traditionally views these exercises as “a rehearsal for invasion“ and regularly responds to them with a demonstration of nuclear and missile power. Just a day earlier, North Korean state media also sharply criticized Japan's new White Paper on Defense, accusing Tokyo of attempting to “revive militarism“ and justifying their own rearmament.
The militaries of South Korea, the United States and Japan have activated their systems for 24-hour real-time data exchange, assuring that they maintain full combat readiness to respond to subsequent launches, the Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed in a statement to the Asian network Asia News Network.
International isolation: Over 40 countries with a common front
The missile launch coincided with a large-scale diplomatic pressure at the United Nations. A total of 41 countries, including the United States, South Korea, Japan and a number of European countries, issued an official joint statement, published by the US mission in Geneva. In it, the international community strongly condemns the practice of conducting tests of ballistic missiles with nuclear capacity without prior warning.
The document is aimed at both Pyongyang's systematic violations and China's recent surprise launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile in the Pacific. The countries insist on the introduction of a mandatory 24-hour notice before any missile launches (including space launch vehicles). According to the joint position, the lack of coordination dramatically increases the "risk of miscalculation" and endangers international air and maritime traffic. The allies recalled that 145 nations already adhere to similar rules under the Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCOC).
Experts, quoted by global media outlets such as Al Jazeera, note that Kim Jong-un is deliberately hardening his tone and demonstrating his expanded arsenal to seek geopolitical concessions and easing economic sanctions, relying on his increased military cooperation with Russia and China.