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North Korea fires 'long-range' ballistic missile, Seoul says

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missiles displayed during a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea, on February 8, 2023. EPA-EFE/KCNA/file" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/overseas/02/18/02182023-north-korea-fires-long-range_ballistic-missile_epa_efe.jpg"/><figcaption>A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missiles displayed during a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea, on February 8, 2023. EPA-EFE/KCNA/file</figcaption></figure></div>North Korea fired a suspected long-range ballistic missile Saturday, South Korea&#x27;s military said, Pyongyang&#x27;s first test in seven weeks that comes days before Seoul and Washington are due to start joint tabletop exercises.Seoul&#x27;s military said it had detected the launch of &quot;a presumed long-range ballistic missile fired into the East Sea from Pyongyang&#x27;s Sunan area, around 17:22 (0822 GMT),&quot; referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.&quot;The South Korean military maintains a full readiness posture while closely cooperating with the US and strengthening surveillance and vigilance,&quot; it added in a statement.Japan also confirmed the launch, the coastguard saying the suspected ballistic missile had now landed, without giving details of exactly where.Japan&#x27;s vice defence minister Toshiro Ino said it was likely to fall &quot;in the Sea of Japan within the exclusive economic zone of Japan, approximately 200 km west of Oshima, Hokkaido, at around 18:27 (0927 GMT)&quot;.Military tensions have risen on the Korean peninsula after a year in which North Korea declared itself an &quot;irreversible&quot; nuclear state and carried out sanctions-busting weapons tests nearly every month, including firing intercontinental ballistic missiles.In response, Seoul has ramped up joint military drills and cooperation with key security ally Washington, in a bid to convince the increasingly nervous South Korean public of America&#x27;s commitment to deter nuclear-armed Pyongyang.The Saturday launch -- Pyongyang&#x27;s first since January 1 -- comes days before Seoul and Washington are due to kick off a new tabletop exercise in Washington, in which the two allies will discuss how they would respond to the use of nuclear weapons by Pyongyang.The exercise next week will focus on &quot;joint planning, joint management and joint response with Washington&#x27;s nuclear assets&quot; in case of a nuclear attack, a South Korean defence ministry official told AFP on Friday.Pyongyang on Friday threatened an &quot;unprecedentedly&quot; strong response to upcoming US-South Korea drills, which it described as akin to preparations for war.An Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies, said the latest launch indicated North Korean leader Kim Jong Un &quot;has finally pulled out his sword.&quot;&quot;North Korea has warned of retaliation over the upcoming US-South Korea drills,&quot; he told AFP, adding: &quot;Kim Jong Un seems to want to confront the issue with a tit-for-tat approach.&quot;- No talks, more missiles -South Korea&#x27;s hawkish President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took office in May 2022, has vowed to get tough on North Korea and is pushing to beef up America&#x27;s so-called extended deterrence, under which US nuclear assets offer protection to regional allies.Earlier this week, South Korea called Pyongyang its &quot;enemy&quot; in a defence document -- the first time in six years it has used the term, signalling a further hardening of Seoul&#x27;s position.North Korea has also ramped up its testing, including firing a ballistic missile last year that landed south of the de facto maritime border near South Korea&#x27;s territorial waters for the first time since the end of the Korean War in 1953.In December, it sent five drones across the border into Seoul&#x27;s airspace, including skies near its presidential office.Pyongyang has repeatedly said it is not interested in further talks, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently called for an &quot;exponential&quot; increase in his country&#x27;s nuclear arsenal.At a military parade in Pyongyang last week, North Korea showed off a record number of nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missiles, including what analysts said was possibly a new solid-fuelled ICBM.The weapons on show included at least 10 of North Korea&#x27;s largest Hwasong-17 ICBMs, as well as vehicles apparently designed to carry a solid-fuelled ICBM.North Korea has long sought to develop a solid-fuel ICBM because such missiles are easier to store and transport, as well as being more stable and quicker to prepare for launch -- and thus harder for the United States to detect and destroy pre-emptively.

North Korea fired a suspected long-range ballistic missile Saturday, South Korea's military said.