The missile launch was the eighth of its kind this year.
Seoul, South Korea - North Korea launched a ballistic missile into the sea on Sunday, its neighbors said, in a resumption of weapons testing that as the United States and its allies centered on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The launch of the missile was the eighth of its kind this year. Some experts have said North Korea is trying to improve its weapons technology and pressure the United States to make concessions such as sanctions relief amid long-stalled disarmament talks. North Korea may also see America's engagement with the Ukraine conflict as an opportunity to ramp up testing activity without any serious backlash from Washington.
Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said the North Korean missile flew about 190 miles at a maximum altitude of about 370 miles before landing on North Korea's east coast and outside Japan's exclusive economic zone. There was no damage to ships or aircraft, he said.
"If North Korea deliberately launched a missile while the international community is distracted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, such an act is absolutely unforgivable," he told reporters. "Whatever the purpose, North Korea's repeated missile launches are absolutely unforgivable and we cannot ignore the considerable missile and nuclear progress."
South Korean officials said they detected the launch from the North's capital region and expressed "deep concern and grave regret".
During an emergency National Security Council meeting, top South Korean officials said the timing of the launch, during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, "is not at all desirable for peace and stability in the world and on the Korean Peninsula," the president said. Blue House said.
The US Indo-Pacific Command later on Sunday condemned the launch and called on North Korea to refrain from further destabilizing acts. A statement said that the U.S. to protect South Korea and Japan. The commitment "remains ironic," although Sunday's launch did not pose an immediate threat to the US territory and its allies.
The launch came a day after North Korea gave its first response to the Ukraine war in the form of an article by a government analyst that expressed support for Russia and slammed the United States.
"The root cause of the Ukraine incident lies in the arbitrariness and arbitrariness of the United States, which has ignored Russia's legitimate calls for security guarantees and has sought global hegemony and military dominance while only sticking to its sanctions campaigns." ,” Ri Ji Song, a researcher at the North Korean state-run Institute on International Politics, said in a post published on the Foreign Ministry website.
Rea accused Washington of "arrogance" and "double standards" as it describes its rivals' defense measures as provocations or injustice.
The former Soviet Union was North Korea's largest aid provider before its dissolution in the early 1990s. Russian President Vladimir Putin is pushing for the restoration of his country's ties with North Korea, which has been described as a way to regain its traditional domain of influence and secure more allies to better deal with the United States. seen as effort.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewa University in Seoul, said the Biden administration needs to show it has a strategic focus on the Indo-Pacific region by responding strongly to Pyongyang's provocation.
"North Korea is not going to take anyone's side in favor of keeping quiet while the world deals with Russia's aggression against Ukraine," Isley said. “Pyongyang has an ambitious program of military modernization. The power and legitimacy of the Kim regime has always been linked to the testing of better missiles."
North Korea conducted seven rounds of missile tests last month, a record number of monthly launches since leader Kim Jong Un came to power in late 2011. North Korea halted testing activity after the start of the Winter Olympics in China, its last major ally and economic pipeline, earlier this month. Some experts had predicted that it would resume launch and possibly test larger weapons after the Games.
Kim sent a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping after the Olympics, in which he called for further strengthening bilateral ties "in an invincible" in what he called "the unquestionable hostile policy and military threat of the US and its satellite forces".
According to North Korea's state media, Xi responded to Kim last week, saying China was ready to strengthen ties.
US-led diplomacy aimed at persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear program in exchange for economic and political rewards in early 2019 introduced widespread sanctions in exchange for limited denuclearization steps during their second summit in early 2019. rejected Kim's call for relief. Vietnam.
U.S. officials have since repeatedly called for the resumption of talks without preconditions, but Pyongyang has said it won’t return to the negotiating table unless Washington ends its hostility.