(Bloomberg) — North Korea may have fired a ballistic missile, the Japanese Coast Guard said on Tuesday morning.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said separately that North Korea launched an unidentified projectile toward the sea east of the Korean peninsula, according to the Yonhap news agency.
The latest launch follows what North Korea last week claimed was its second “hypersonic” missile test in about four months. South Korea’s Defense Ministry subsequently dismissed those claims, saying they appeared to be “exaggerated” and Pyongyang still hadn’t developed the necessary technology for a hypersonic glide vehicle.
Kim Jong Un’s regime has continued to develop its nuclear weapons program, including with projectiles designed to evade interception by the U.S. and its allies. The North Korean leader indicated at a high-level meeting in the final days of the year that he was more interested in bolstering his arsenal than returning to stalled nuclear talks with the Biden administration.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
