North Korea fires ballistic missile ahead of planned drills

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North Korea fires ballistic missile ahead of planned drills

SEOUL - North Korea fired a ballistic missile off its east coast on Sunday ahead of planned military drills by South Korea and U.S. forces involving an aircraft carrier and a visit to the region by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.

South Korea's military said it was a single, short-range ballistic missile fired from near the Taechon area of North Pyongyan Province just before 7 a.m.

Japan's Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said Japan estimated it reached maximum altitude of 50 km and may have flown on an irregular trajectory. Hamada said it fell outside Japan's exclusive economic zone and there were no reports of problems with shipping or air traffic.

Many of the short-range missiles tested by North Korea in recent years have been designed to evade missile defenses by maneuvering during flight and flying on a lower, depressed trajectory, experts said.

This is the nineteenth launch of a cruise missile, which is an unprecedented pace. Hamada said that the action of North Korea is a threat to the peace and security of our country, the region, and the international community and that the Ukraine invasion is unforgivable, as Japan delivered a protest through North Korea's embassy in Beijing.

The launch came after the arrival of the US Navy-powered American aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in South Korea to participate in joint drills with South Korean forces, and ahead of a planned visit to Seoul this week by Harris.

It was the first time that the North had carried out such a launch after firing eight short-range ballistic missiles in a single day in early June, leading the United States to call for more sanctions for violating UN Security Council resolutions.

North Korea opposes UN resolutions as an infringement of its sovereign right to self defense and space exploration, and has criticized previous joint drills by the United States and South Korea as proof of their hostile policies.

The drills have been criticized by Russia and China, which have called on all sides not to take measures that cause tensions in the region, and have called for an easing of sanctions.

After North Korea conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests earlier this year, including its intercontinental ballistic missiles for the first time since 2017, the United States and South Korea said they would boost joint drills and military displays of power to deter Pyongyang.

Defense exercises aren't going to prevent North Korean missile tests, said Leif-Eric Easley, an international affairs professor at Ewha University in Seoul.

But the U.S.-South Korea security cooperation helps deter North Korea attack and counter Pyongyang's coercion, and the allies should not allow provocations to stop them from conducting military training and exchanges needed to maintain the alliance, he added.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported on Saturday that North Korea may be preparing to test a submarine-launched ballistic missile, according to the South s military.