SOUTH KOREA SAYS NORTH KOREA TEST-FIRED MISSILE

Launch comes as U.S. ships arrive in region for military exercises

North Korea today fired a short-range ballistic missile toward its eastern seas, extending a provocative streak in weapons testing as a U.S. aircraft carrier visits South Korea for joint military exercises in response to the North’s growing nuclear threat.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile launched from the western inland town of Taechon flew cross-country before landing in waters off North Korea’s eastern coast. The South’s military didn’t immediately release further specifics about the weapon, such as what type of missile it was or how far it flew.

North Korea has dialed up its testing activities to a record pace in 2022, testing more than 30 ballistic weapons, including its first intercontinental ballistic missiles since 2017, as it continues to expand its military capabilities amid a prolonged stalemate in nuclear diplomacy.

North Korea is exploiting a divide in the U.N. Security Council deepened over Russia’s war on Ukraine to speed up arms development.

The launch came as the nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and its strike group arrived in South Korea for the two countries’ joint military exercise to show their strength against growing North Korean threats.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a statement Tokyo is “doing its utmost” to gather information on North Korea’s launch and confirm the safety of ships and aircraft, although there were no immediate reports of damages.

The North Korean threat is also expected to be a key agenda item when Vice President Kamala Harris visits South Korea this week after attending Tuesday’s state funeral in Tokyo of slain former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has punctuated his weapons tests with repeated threats that the North would proactively use its nuclear weapons when threatened, increasing security concerns for its conventionally armed rival South Korea.

North Korea has so far rejected U.S. and South Korean calls to return to nuclear diplomacy, which have been stalled since 2019 over disagreements in exchanging the release of U.s.-led sanctions against the North and the North’s disarmament steps.

The Reagan’s arrival in South Korea came after Kim told Pyongyang’s rubber-stamp parliament this month that he would never abandon his nuclear weapons and missiles he needs to counter what he perceives as U.S. hostility.