North Korea conducts second ballistic missile test in less than a week

TIL Desk/World/Seoul/ North Korea fired what was believed to a ballistic missile on Tuesday, South Korea’s military and the Japanese coast guard said, the second apparent missile launch in less than a week after the reclusive state’s leader urged more military advances.

The suspected ballistic missile launch was detected around 7:27 a.m. (2227 GMT) from an inland area of North Korea toward the ocean off its east coast, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement. The projectile appeared to have landed outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), citing government sources in Tokyo.

“That North Korea continues to launch missiles is extremely regrettable,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters, noting the United Nations had just finished holding discussions on how to respond to last week’s launch of what North Korea claimed was a “hypersonic missile.” The launches by nuclear-armed North Korea underscored leader Kim Jong Un’s New Year’s vow to bolster the military to counter an unstable international situation amid stalled talks with South Korea and the United States.