North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile Into Sea of Japan - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - North Korea has fired a short-range ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported on Sunday, citing the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

On Saturday, the news agency reported that the South Korean military recently detected possible signs of preparations for the submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launch in the North Korean city of Sinpo.

The JCS said that the North Korean missile flew about 372 miles at a maximum altitude of 37 miles at a speed of about Mach 5. Details are being analyzed by the intelligence agencies of South Korea and the United States, the agency added.

The launch of the missile took place amid the arrival of the USS Ronald Reagan carrier strike group in the port of the South Korean city of Busan to participate in the combined drills with the South Korean navy, the news agency reported, adding that the drills will be held in the Sea of Japan later this month.

Later, the Japanese government protested through diplomatic channels to North Korea over the missile launch.

"North Korea's missile launch amid the ongoing situation in Ukraine is absolutely inexcusable. This is a violation of the provisions of the UN Security Council resolutions. We strongly condemn these actions and send our protest to North Korea through diplomatic channels in Beijing," Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said at a press conference.

Hamada noted that the missile launched by North Korea flew 248 miles with a maximum altitude of 31 miles and fell outside the exclusive economic zone. In connection with the missile launch, an emergency headquarters was set up at the office of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to collect and analyze information.

North Korea intensified launches of ballistic missiles and other projectiles in 2022. Since the beginning of the year, Pyongyang launched 18 missiles, compared to the eight missiles last year. According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), North Korea spent $1,221 per minute on its nuclear program in 2021, or a total of $642 million. ICAN estimates that North Korea has 20 ready nuclear warheads. Pyongyang is developing nuclear-capable missiles that can be launched from the ground and from submarines.