According to reports from Seoul and Tokyo, North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan early on August 13. This marks the second weapons test by Pyongyang in less than a week, following the announcement by the United States and South Korea of their planned annual Ulchi Freedom Shield joint exercises starting August 17.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that its military detected the missile launch from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, at approximately 6 a.m. local time. The missile flew over 700 kilometers before landing in the sea.
Seoul reported that it has increased surveillance and is closely sharing information about the launch with Washington and Tokyo. Japan's Defense Ministry confirmed that an object believed to be a ballistic missile had fallen, but provided no further details.
According to expert Lim Eul-chul from Kyungnam University, this launch sends a message that Pyongyang is closely monitoring the upcoming drills and may take provocative actions if it deems necessary.
The Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise is expected to last 11 days, with a scale similar to previous years, involving around 18,000 South Korean troops. North Korea has repeatedly condemned these drills as invasion rehearsals, while Seoul and Washington affirm their defensive nature.
On August 12, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of using North Korean ballistic missiles in an attack that killed 7 workers at a steel plant in Zaporizhzhia. Earlier, Pyongyang also repeatedly criticized Japan's defense policy, calling Tokyo's latest defense white paper a document with "aggressive intentions."
