North Korea fires ballistic missile amid rising regional tensions

North Korea fired a ballistic missile from its eastern shores into the sea, escalating already heightened military tensions

North Korea fired a short range ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Sunday, with the launch detected from the Wonsan area, South Korea’s military said. The launch marks another weapons test by Pyongyang amid heightened military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the missile was launched at around 3 pm local time and flew toward the East Sea. The military was continuing to analyse its exact specifications and flight details.The launch follows another round of missile activity by North Korea days earlier. On September 12, Pyongyang fired multiple short range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area, with South Korea saying the weapons travelled about 250 km toward the East Sea.North Korea later described the September 12 launches as part of a firepower strike drill involving tactical ballistic and cruise missiles, large calibre multiple rocket launchers and attack drones, according to its state media.The September 12 launches came a day after South Korea, the US and Japan concluded their five day Freedom Edge military exercise. Pyongyang had criticised the drills, with North Korean Defence Minister Kim Song Gi warning that the country would take what he called “strong and reflective countermeasures” against military provocations.

The latest launch also comes amid increasingly sharp rhetoric from Pyongyang over US led military activity in the region. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a senior ruling party official, on September 18 accused Washington and its allies of worsening tensions on the Korean Peninsula and said North Korea would continue strengthening its nuclear deterrent.