SEOUL, Jan. 14 (BNA) – Officials in South Korea and Japan said that North Korea on Friday launched at least one possible ballistic missile in its third launch of weapons this month, in apparent retaliation for new sanctions imposed by the Biden administration. Continuing trial launches.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the weapon was fired east but did not immediately specify where it fell and did not provide other details, the Associated Press reported.
Japan’s Prime Minister’s Office and Defense Ministry said they had detected the North Korean launch and said it might have been a ballistic missile.
The Japan Coast Guard issued a safety warning, saying the object may have already landed.
She urged ships between the Korean peninsula and Japan, as well as the East China Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, to “pay attention to more information and clarification when recognizing the fallen object.”
The Biden administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions on five North Koreans for their role in obtaining equipment and technology for North Korea’s missile programs in its response to the North’s missile test this week. It also said it would seek new UN sanctions.
The Treasury’s announcement came just hours after North Korea said leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a successful test of a hypersonic missile on Tuesday that it claimed would significantly increase the country’s nuclear “war deterrent”.
Tuesday’s test was North Korea’s second test of its hypersonic missile in a week.
The country has in recent months ramped up its testing of new, potentially nuclear-capable missiles designed to override the region’s missile defense systems, as it continues to expand its military capabilities amid a diplomatic freeze with the United States.
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