The South Korean army announced this Friday, November 7, that North Korea launched an unidentified ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan, a day after Pyongyang threatened to retaliate against sanctions imposed by the United States.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported at 12:40 (03:40 in Lisbon) that the North launched a “unidentified” ballistic missilewhich ended up falling into the Sea of Japan, without providing further details.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi also confirmed the launch of the missile in a press release.
“It is believed to have fallen outside the EEZ [Zona Económica Exclusiva] of our country and, at this moment, there is no confirmed information about damage”, said the head of Government.
On Thursday, Pyongyang had promised to “respond appropriately” to US sanctions imposed on individuals and companies accused of money laundering to finance North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
The US Treasury Department sanctioned eight individuals and two companies on Wednesday for laundering money originating from illicit activities such as cyber fraud and intended to finance North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
North Korea has been accelerating the pace of weapons testing in recent weeks, including launching suspected hypersonic missiles and cruise missiles in October.
The latest launch came days after the US Secretary of War traveled to South Korea for annual security talks between the allies.
At the time, Pete Hegseth praised South Korean plans to increase military spending in the face of nuclear threats from North Korea and other regional uncertainties.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has rejected dialogue with Washington and Seoul since diplomacy with US President Donald Trump derailed during Trump’s first Republican term in 2019, due to disagreements over exchanging sanctions relief for measures to dismantle the nuclear program.
Since then, it has accelerated the expansion of its nuclear weapons and missile program while making Russia a focus of foreign policy, sending thousands of troops and large amounts of military equipment to help finance Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Kim’s arsenal currently includes nuclear missiles capable of reaching the continental United States.