N Korea launches ballistic missile as S Korea, US plan military drills
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- North Korea launched a ballistic missile from the Wonsan area toward the Sea of Japan around 6:00 am on Wednesday, flying more than 700km (435 miles), according to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff and Japan's Defence Ministry
- This marks the second weapons test from Pyongyang in less than a week — on August 6, South Korea, the US, and Japan detected a short-range ballistic missile launch, North Korea's first ballistic weapons test since late June
- South Korea and the United States announced the Ulchi Freedom Shield military drills starting August 17, running 11 days with 18,000 South Korean soldiers; North Korea has historically denounced such exercises as invasion rehearsals
- North Korean state media condemned Japan's latest defence white paper as 're-invasion-minded,' issuing at least seven statements criticizing Tokyo's defence policy since July
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Russia used a North Korean ballistic missile in an attack that killed seven workers at a steel plant in Zaporizhzhia, linking Pyongyang to Moscow's war effort
- Lim Eul-chul of Kyungnam University told AFP that 'North Korea has never simply let a South Korea-US joint military exercise pass without a response,' framing the launch as a predictable reaction to the drills
Why it matters: The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise will deploy 18,000 South Korean troops and comes as Pyongyang issued its seventh condemnation of Japan's defence policy since July. Zelenskyy reported a North Korean missile killed seven workers in Zaporizhzhia, tying the test to Pyongyang's growing role arming Russia's war.
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