Nuclear-armed North Korea fired off a short-range ballistic missile Sunday, Tokyo and Seoul said, days before the U.S. and South Korea were scheduled to wrap up large-scale joint military drills.
The missile, the North’s fifth launch this month, flew about 800 kilometers, hitting a maximum altitude of about 50 km and falling into waters in the Sea of Japan outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles (370 km) from its coast.
Seoul also confirmed the launch, saying that the South Korean and U.S. military would carry out their joint military drills in a "high-intensity" and "thorough" manner, while vowing to maintain a firm readiness posture that would allow them to respond "overwhelmingly" to any North Korean provocations.