[Comprehensive] JCS: "North Korea Launches Ballistic Missile into East Sea"

Yonhap News

North Korea launched a ballistic missile into the East Sea on August 12. This marks the eleventh ballistic missile launch by North Korea this year.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced, "At around 6 a.m., a ballistic missile was detected being launched from the Wonsan area of North Korea toward the East Sea," adding, "The North Korean missile flew more than 700 kilometers."

On August 6, North Korea also launched a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) from the Wonsan area into the East Sea. This new launch comes just six days after the previous one. At that time, North Korea did not report the launch through its state-run media, leading to speculation that this was an unusual launch pattern. There is also the possibility that North Korea may have re-launched the same missile model used in the previous test.

This launch comes ahead of the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) theater-level combined exercise between South Korea and the US, scheduled to take place from August 17 to 27. North Korea has reacted sensitively to the South Korea–US UFS drills, calling them a “rehearsal for invasion of the North.” North Korea has previously engaged in military provocations such as missile launches around the time of these joint exercises.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said, "Our military has strengthened surveillance and vigilance in preparation for additional launches, while South Korea, the US, and Japan are closely sharing information related to North Korean ballistic missiles and maintaining a full readiness posture."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.