North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Sunday, the South Korean military said, days after Pyongyang organized live artillery exercises near the maritime border with South Korea.
“North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile into the East Sea,” South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said in a statement, referring to an area also known as the Sea of Japan.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said they had detected the launch but did not provide further details.
Japan's coast guard said it was an “object, possibly a ballistic missile, launched from North Korea,” citing information from the country's defense ministry and urging ships to be cautious.
The last missile fired by North Korea on December 18 was a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, the most advanced of all, which was fired into the Sea of Japan.
In early January, North Korea conducted live artillery exercises on its west coast near South Korean islands, where civilians were called on to protect themselves.
On Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un described South Korea as the country's “main enemy.”
“The historic moment has finally come when we should define [la Corée du Sud] as the state to which it is most hostile [Corée du Nord]” said Mr. Kim, calling South Korea “our main enemy.”
The comments mark a shift in North Korean policy and suggest Pyongyang will take a tougher stance in the future, analysts say.
Last year, North Korea enshrined its status as a nuclear power in its constitution and fired several intercontinental ballistic missiles in violation of UN resolutions.