(Seoul) North Korea fired an “unidentified projectile”, the South Korean army announced on Sunday, after a month of lull, without launching, during the Beijing Olympics.
Posted at 6:48 p.m.
Updated at 6:59 p.m.
“North Korea fired an unidentified projectile eastward,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, without giving further details.
Pyongyang conducted an unprecedented series of seven missile launches in January, including the most powerful missile since 2017.
The regime has also warned that it may waive its self-imposed moratorium on intercontinental ballistic missile and nuclear testing.
But North Korea appears to have halted testing during the 2022 Winter Olympics, perhaps out of respect for its Chinese ally, experts say.
Pyongyang’s demonstrations of strength come at a delicate time in the region, as South Korea prepares to elect its next president on March 9.
Analysts say Pyongyang could use the upcoming anniversary — the 110th anniversary of Kim Il-sung’s birth on April 15 — to conduct a major weapons test.