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Korea — North Korea on Thursday test-fired one of its most powerful missiles, South Korea’s military said, Kim Jong Un’s first weapons test since being accused of sending soldiers to Russia.
South Korea’s military had warned a day earlier that the nuclear-armed North was preparing to test another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or even conduct a nuclear test, possibly ahead of next week’s US elections.
The launch came just hours after US and South Korean defense chiefs called on Pyongyang to withdraw its troops from Russia, warning that North Korean soldiers in Russian uniforms were being deployed for possible action against Ukrainian forces.
“Our military detected one ballistic missile launched from the Pyongyang area toward the East Sea at approximately 7:10 AM (2210 GMT) today,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.
“The ballistic missile is presumed to be a long-range missile launched at a high angle,” it said.
North Korea typically test-fires its longest-range and most powerful missiles on a so-called lofted trajectory — fired up, not out — which it says is to avoid overflying neighboring countries.
