North Korea fires ballistic missile at Sea of ​​Japan

< /p> UPDATE DAY

North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Sunday, according to the Yonhap news agency, the latest launch as Seoul and Washington conduct their largest joint military drills in five years.  

'North Korea is firing a ballistic missile towards the East Sea,' Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff, quoted by Yonhap, referring to the Korean name of the sea of Japan.

Seoul has been conducting military maneuvers with Washington since Monday, unprecedented in five years, intended to strengthen cooperation between the two allies in the face of the nuclear threat embodied by the North. Called “Freedom Shield”, they are to last ten days.

These exercises infuriate Pyongyang, which perceives them as rehearsals for an invasion of its territory and regularly promises an “overwhelming” response.

The launch comes after Pyongyang fired its most powerful missile, the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), on Thursday ahead of a visit to Japan by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

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The two neighbors spoke at the highest level and decided to present a united front against the aggressiveness of North Korea.

This was the second test of ICBM carried out by Pyongyang this year.

North Korean state media then called it a response to “frenzied” military exercises by South Korea and the United States.

< p>Last year, North Korea declared its status as a nuclear power “irreversible”, with its leader Kim Jong Un calling for an “irreversible” increase. exponentially” its military arsenal, including tactical nuclear weapons.