North Korea fired a ballistic missile off its east coast towards Japan early on Wednesday, the South Korean military has said. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the ballistic missile was fired from the North's eastern coastal Wonsan area around 6 am and flew more than 700 kilometres.
What South Korea, Japan said
In response, South Korea's presidential national security council issued a statement urging North Korea to stop ballistic missile launches, which it said are “acts of provocation” that defy UN Security Council resolutions.
Japan’s Ministry of Defense said Wednesday it also spotted a suspected ballistic missile launch from North Korea. It said it didn't detect the weapon reaching Japan’s exclusive economic zone, suggesting it was believed to have fallen further away from the Japanese coast.
According to an Associated Press report, this was the second ballistic missile test carried out by the Hermit Kingdom in less than a week. The missile tests also came ahead of an upcoming South Korea-US military drill that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal.
Ulchi Freedom Shield
The joint exercise between South Korea and the United States, Ulchi Freedom Shield, lasting 11 days, is due to start on Monday, 17 August.
Earlier, on 6 August, South Korea, the US and Japan detected the launch of a short-range ballistic missile from North Korea in what was the North’s first ballistic weapons testing activity since late June.
"North Korea has never simply let a South Korea-US joint military exercise pass without a response," Lim Eul-chul, a North Korea expert at Kyungnam University, told AFP.
"This is a message that Pyongyang is closely watching the upcoming drills and could stage a provocation if it deems one necessary."
North Korea has also been hurling criticism at Japan, a former regional colonial power, over what Pyongyang describes as its remilitarization.
North Korea's show of power
Multiple UN Security Council resolutions ban North Korea from launching ballistic missiles. But North Korea has ramped up ballistic and other weapons testing activities to expand its nuclear and missile arsenals since Kim’s high-stakes diplomacy with US President Donald Trump fell apart in 2019.
North Korea has previously responded to the Ulchi Freedom Shield training and other major South Korea-US military exercises with provocative weapons tests and harsh rhetoric.
In 2025, after the Ulchi Freedom Shield training exercises began, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the drills showed the US and South Korea's “will to ignite a war” and claimed they have grown more provocative than before, which has prompted North Korea to respond with “proactive and overwhelming” countermeasures.
North Korean involvement in Russia-Ukraine war
The latest missile launches also come at a time when North Korea, which is one of the most isolated countries in the world, is making its presence felt in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
On Tuesday, Ukraine accused Russia of launching North Korean missiles in an attack that killed 10 and wounded dozens.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also claimed that Moscow has been receiving more ballistic projectiles and troops from Pyongyang.
Experts say North Korea has received financial and military benefits from Moscow in return for its support.
(With inputs from agencies)
