South Korea says North Korea has fired a missile toward its eastern waters

Seoul, South Korea. South Korea’s military says North Korea has fired at least one ballistic missile into its eastern waters, adding to a spate of weapons demonstrations that has raised tensions.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff did not immediately provide further details on Thursday.

Japan’s coast guard issued a maritime safety advisory saying North Korea launched a possible ballistic missile. Minutes later, the coast guard said the suspected missile was believed to have already landed, but urged ships to use caution if they encountered any fallen objects. There were no immediate reports of damage.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen in recent months as the pace of North Korean weapons tests and South Korea’s combined military exercises with the United States and Japan have intensified in a tit-for-tat cycle. eye.

Thursday’s launch came after North Korea launched hundreds of garbage-laden balloons into the South since Tuesday night in retaliation against South Korean activists who dropped anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also warned of unspecified “overwhelming actions” against South Korea after he staged an aerial exercise with 20 fighter jets near the inter-Korean border hours before an attempted launch of a North Korean satellite on Monday. The launch failed after the rocket exploded shortly after takeoff.

This year, North Korea tested several cruise missiles and artillery systems and flight-tested what it described as a solid-fuel intermediate-range missile with hypersonic warhead capabilities. Experts say it is designed to hit remote US targets in the Pacific, including the Guam military hub.