North Korea launched at least one ballistic missile on Sunday, according to Seoul’s military, as the US and South Korea warned that any nuclear attack would bring Pyongyang’s dictatorship to an end.
“North Korea fires unidentified ballistic missile towards the East Sea,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.
The test comes as Seoul and Washington have warned Pyongyang that any nuclear assault on the US or South Korea will result in the North Korean regime’s demise.
On Friday, the two allies convened their second Nuclear Consultative Group meeting in Washington, where they addressed nuclear deterrence in the event of conflict with the North.
The launch also coincides with Pyongyang’s commemoration of the death anniversary of leader Kim Jong Un’s father and predecessor Kim Jong Il, who died on December 17, 2011.
North Korea declared itself a “irreversible” nuclear power last year and has frequently stated that it will never abandon its nuclear program, which the dictatorship regards as fundamental to its existence.
And last month Pyongyang successfully put a military spy satellite into orbit. It has since claimed its eye in the sky was already providing images of major US and South Korean military sites.