North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile on Saturday, Seoul said, its second missile launch in three days, after the United States warned Pyongyang could be preparing for a nuclear test.
Pyongyang has dramatically ramped up its missile launches this year, conducting 15 weapons tests since January including firing an intercontinental ballistic missile at full range for the first time since 2017.
The latest launch comes just days before South Korea swears in a new, hawkish President Yoon Suk-yeol, who has vowed to get tough on Pyongyang and bolster the U.S. security alliance.
Satellite imagery indicates North Korea may also be preparing to resume nuclear testing, with the U.S. State Department on Friday warning a test could come “as early as this month”.
“Our military detected around 14:07 (0507 GMT) a short-range ballistic missile presumed to be an SLBM fired from waters off Sinpo, South Hamgyong,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
The missile flew 600 km at a maximum altitude of 60 km, the JCS added.
It landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, Tokyo’s Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi said.
