North Korea fires short-range missile, South Korea says

North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile toward the Yellow Sea, South Korean officials said.

The Yonhap news agency reported the missile was fired westward toward the sea without giving details. 

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the weapon was fired at around 6:20 p.m. (0920 GMT/UTC) from an area around the western coastal city of Nampo.

The launch came two days after Kim Yo Jung, the influential sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said her country was ready for "quick, overwhelming action" against the United States and South Korea.

Pyongyang's short-range launches also come after the US flew a B-52 bomber for joint training with South Korea ealier this week, in a show of force against the North's nuclear and missile threats.

The US has mobilized powerful military assets in recent drills, in response to Pyongyang's escalating threats but said Thursday's launch does not pose a threat to the US or its allies.

"We are aware of the ballistic missile launch and are consulting closely with our allies and partners," the US Indo-Pacific Command said. "While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to our allies, the missile launch highlights the destabilizing impact of the DPRK’s unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs."

North Korea's nuclear ambitions

Since the collapse of its negotiations with the United States in 2019, North Korea has been accelerating its development of short-range solid-fuel ballistic missiles targeting South Korea.

The North has been testing its ballistic missiles at a record pace. It fired more than 70 ballistic missiles last year, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) with the potential to reach the US mainland.

North Korea first tested a long-range cruise missile system in September 2021 and has implied the missiles are being developed to be armed with nuclear warheads.

The US and international observers have warned for months that North Korea appears to be preparing for an underground nuclear test, which would be the nation's first since September 2017.

While Kim Jong Un has called for an expansion of his country's nuclear arsenal, North Korea's civilian economy faces a deepening crisis. Experts say that COVID-19-related border controls and sanctions may have worsened the country's food crisis.

rm/sms (Reuters, AFP, AP)