North Korea fired multiple missiles, including a possible failed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Thursday, prompting the United States and South Korea to extend air drills that have drawn Pyongyang’s ire.
The number of missiles launched this week has brought the total number of missiles fired to more than 60 so far this year. The state launched 23 missiles of various types on Wednesday alone, including one that landed near South Korea’s territorial waters.
Seoul’s military stated it had detected “one long-range ballistic missile, which is believed to have been launched into the East Sea around 7:40 a.m. in the Sunan area of Pyongyang.”
The ballistic missile crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a disputed maritime border line between the two countries.
North Korea’s missile launches came after the largest-ever joint air drills between the United States and South Korea, called Operation Vigilant Storm, began on Monday and will last until Friday.
The drill involves hundreds of aircraft from both allied forces, which have been conducting mock attacks this week, which Pyongyang has decried as “aggressive and provocative.”
The escalation led the Japanese government to issue a rare emergency alert early on November 2nd. Residents in some of its northern regions are advised to stay indoors, BBC reported.
The Defence Minister of Japan, Yasukazu Hamada, said that the missile “did not cross the Japanese archipelago, but disappeared over the Sea of Japan.”