North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a military demonstration in North Korea, in this picture released on March 16, 2024 by the Korean Central News Agency. KCNA via REUTERS
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea on Monday for the first time in two months, at a time when U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Seoul to attend a conference hosted by President Yoon Suk Yeol on advancing democracy.
South Korea’s military said the missile was fired to the east of the Korean peninsula. Japan’s coast guard also reported the launch of what it said appeared to be a ballistic missile by North Korea and specified that it has already fallen.
Japan later said it detected what appeared to be a second ballistic missile launch by the North, also falling outside its exclusive economic zone area.
North Korea’s military has been conducting exercises using conventional weapons in recent weeks, often personally overseen by the isolated state’s leader Kim Jong Un.
READ MORE: N. Korea ends reconciliation with South due to hostility–Kim Jong Un
North Korea says it tested new strategic cruise missile