SEOUL | North Korea launched an unidentified projectile into the sea, continuing a series of tests that began a few weeks ago, the South Korean military said on Tuesday.
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The projectile was launched from Sinpo towards the sea in the east of the peninsula, according to a statement from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which does not give further details.
“The South Korean and American intelligence services are carrying out a careful analysis in order to obtain additional details,” he added.
Japan for its part announced the firing of two missiles by Pyongyang.
“Today, North Korea launched two ballistic missiles,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, adding: “it is very unfortunate that North Korea has continued to launch missiles since last month.”
A Japanese official also said that no ship or plane had been damaged.
Sinpo, where the missile was fired, is a port city in the east of the country with a major shipyard. Satellite photos showed the presence of submarines there.
The North is currently working to develop the launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine (SLBM), it has already launched from a submerged machine.
According to analysts, it was likely a submerged platform rather than a submarine.
The Korean peninsula appears to be in an arms race.
In September, Seoul tested its first SLBM, becoming one of the few nations with this advanced technology, and unveiled a hypersonic cruise missile.
The office of the South Korean presidency announced Tuesday the holding of a meeting of the National Security Council without specifying the subject which will be raised.
The nuclear-armed North Korea recently carried out several tests, including a long-range missile, a weapon fired from a train and a missile touted as hypersonic by Pyongyang, raising concern among many nations.
Last week, at a defense exhibition, a huge Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), unveiled last year during a military parade, was presented.
No hostile intent
On this occasion, the leader Kim Jong Un, under whose reign the country made immense progress in the field of armaments, accused the United States of being the “root cause” of the instability in the peninsula, believing that there is no reason “to believe that they are not hostile”
The new firing comes as Sung Kim, current US President Joe Biden’s special representative for North Korea, has called for talks with Pyongyang.
“We will continue the diplomatic path with North Korea in order to make tangible progress that will improve the security of the United States and our allies,” Sung Kim said on Monday, after a meeting with his southern counterpart. Korean Noh Kyu-duk in Washington.
“We have no hostile intentions towards North Korea and we hope to meet them unconditionally,” he told reporters.
The diplomat added, however, that the allies had the “responsibility to implement the resolutions of the UN Security Council”, referring to the international sanctions that Pyongyang is trying to lift.
Kim Jong Un has met with US President Donald Trump on three occasions, but talks have stalled since the second summit in 2019, for lack of agreement on the relief of international sanctions and on the gestures Pyongyang was prepared to concede in return.
Washington has repeatedly reiterated its willingness to meet with North Korean officials anytime and anywhere, without preconditions.