North Korea fires suspected ballistic missile

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that North Korea fired an unidentified projectile toward the East Sea at around 5:07 p.m. on Thursday.

Japan’s Ministry of Defense also stated that “North Korea has launched what may be a ballistic missile" around the same time.

The JCS is analyzing the projectile’s specifications and range. If the projectile is confirmed to be a ballistic missile, it would mark North Korea’s first such launch in eight days.

North Korea had earlier protested the Ulchi Freedom Shield, the large-scale South Korea-U.S. exercise that began on Monday that has been cut short and is scheduled to end Friday rather than Aug. 27 as originally planned. 

“The DPRK will not tolerate the grave confrontational situation which is being created by the enemy states but more clearly express its stance on the enemies to cope with any threats and challenges through the responsible and decisive exercise of the right to legitimate self-defense," a spokesperson for North Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement released through the Korean Central News Agency on Friday.

DPRK is the acronym of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Concerns had been raised that North Korea could stage another provocation after it fired ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Aug. 6 and Aug. 12.

BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]