North Korea fires suspected long-range ballistic missile

O The announcement by the Japanese ruler was made through a publication on the social network X (formerly Twitter).

The launch came a day after Pyongyang warned it would launch a satellite and Tokyo urged North Korea to cancel the project, which coincides with joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea.

Also today, South Korea said Pyongyang had launched a long-range rocket which it called a “space vehicle launch”.

The statement from the South Korean military forces did not go into further detail, but this is probably North Korea’s second attempt to put a spy satellite in space.

On Tuesday, North Korea informed Japan of its intention to launch a satellite in the coming days, after an earlier test three months ago failed.

On May 31, a rocket presented by Pyongyang as launching a military observation satellite crashed in the Yellow Sea shortly after take-off, with North Korean authorities citing a technical problem.

Pyongyang explained that it intended to “confront the dangerous military actions of the United States and its vassals”.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has made developing a military spy satellite a priority. Washington and Seoul, for their part, suspect that Pyongyang is developing a new intercontinental ballistic missile, which incorporates technology similar to that of a satellite launcher.

The launch announcement coincides with large-scale maneuvers between the United States and South Korea, which began on Monday and run through Aug. 31.

Also Read: US: Pyongyang’s satellite launch would violate UN resolutions