North Korea's ballistic missile launch came just hours after a US nuclear-powered submarine arrived in the South Korean port of Busan.
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| Image of a North Korean short-range ballistic missile launch on September 13, 2023. (Source: KCNA) |
North Korea launched an unidentified ballistic missile on December 17, the Japan Coast Guard and the South Korean military said. According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, the missile was launched into the sea off the east coast of North Korea.
Meanwhile, Japan's Ministry of Defense and Coast Guard said the missile fell outside the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Notably, the move came just hours after the USS Missouri, a US nuclear-powered submarine, arrived at the port of Busan, South Korea.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted the country's Defense Ministry as criticizing the "reckless move" by the US and South Korean militaries.
Previously, South Korean Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae Hyo said that North Korea could launch an intercontinental ballistic missile.
However, given its relatively short flight time, the missile in question could be a shorter-range missile. North Korea last test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Hwasong-18, in July.
Speaking earlier in the day after returning home from the second meeting of the Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) in Washington on December 15, Kim said South Korea would make efforts to coordinate bilateral and trilateral measures involving the United States and Japan if North Korea continues to take action.
“If such actions from North Korea continue, we will make efforts to coordinate necessary measures between South Korea and the United States, actions that the two countries can take individually and joint actions that South Korea, the United States and Japan can take together,” the deputy national security adviser said.
According to him, Washington also "acknowledges the possibility that North Korea could launch a ballistic missile, including an ICBM, in mid-December or early next year at the latest."
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