North Korea fires suspected ballistic missile into sea

North Korea fired at least one suspected ballistic missile into the sea in its fourth weapons launch this month, officials in South Korea and Japan said on Monday as it continued to demonstrate its military might despite pandemic border closures and paused diplomacy with the United States.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff did not immediately say whether the projectile was ballistic or how far it flew. Japan s Prime Minister's Office said it had detected a possible ballistic missile launch from North Korea, but didn't immediately provide more details.

Japan's Coast Guard issued a statement urging vessels travelling around the Japanese coast to watch out for falling objects but no immediate damage to vessels or aircraft reported.

The North conducted a series of flight tests of a purported hypersonic missile on Jan. 5 and Jan. 11 and also test-fired ballistic missiles from a train on Friday in an apparent reprisal over the new sanctions imposed by the Biden administration for its continuing test launches.

North Korea has been testing new missiles in the past few months designed to overwhelm missile defences in the region.

Some experts say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is going back to a tried- and- true technique of pressuring the U.S. and regional neighbours with missile launches and outrageous threats, before offering negotiations meant to extract concessions.