North Korea fired a single ballistic missile into the east of the Korean peninsula on Saturday, the country's ninth such test of the year, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
"The South Korean military is maintaining a readiness by monitoring related movements in preparation for the additional launch," JCS said in a statement, condemning the launch as "a serious threat to the international community as well as to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula." There is danger." ,
The missile was launched from Sunan area near the capital Pyongyang, the statement said. It flew about 270 kilometers (about 168 miles), reaching an altitude of about 560 kilometers (348 miles), JCS said in a statement released on Saturday.
United States and South Korean intelligence are now analyzing further details of the missile, the statement said.
In an emergency meeting after the launch, South Korea's National Security Council referred to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Beijing Winter Paralympics and the upcoming presidential election in South Korea as "a very serious period" of international tensions with North Korea. Requested not to increase.
The missile tests violated UN Security Council resolutions, the country's presidential office said on Saturday, adding that it would "create necessary countermeasures."
The United States also condemned the launch, saying it was consulting with South Korea, Japan and other regional partners. In a statement, the US Indo-Pacific Command urged North Korea to "abstain from further destabilizing acts", saying Saturday's launch did not pose an "immediate threat".
Japan's Coast Guard also alerted its ships of the missile, advising them to keep an eye on "any falling objects".
International tensions are rising over a recent series of North Korean ballistic missile tests, an action long banned by the United Nations Security Council.
This marks North Korea's ninth missile test in 2022. January saw a record number of such tests, with at least seven launches during the month involving a new type of "hypersonic missile" capable of maneuvering at high speeds.
Analysts suggest that increased testing this year shows that Kim is striving to meet both domestic targets and shows an increasingly turbulent world that Pyongyang remains a player in the struggle for power and influence. Is.
Saturday's launch comes days before South Korea's March 9 presidential election, in which North Korea is likely to be a major election issue.