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22m ago

North Korea Fires Short-Range Missile as Seoul Warns Nuclear Test Could Come at Short Notice

South Korea’s spy agency now assesses Pyongyang can conduct a prompt underground test, reflecting expanded warhead output and growing technical support from Russia.

TOPSHOT - People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with an image of a North Korean military parade held in Pyongyang to mark the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice, at a railway station in Seoul on July 28, 2023. Kim Jong Un oversaw a North Korean military parade featuring new drones and Pyongyang's nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles, as his defence chief warned the United States that nuclear war was coming, state media reported on July 28. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP) (Photo by JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said a suspected short-range ballistic missile launched at 12:35 p.m. from near Taegwan in North Pyongan Province flew about 700 km before splashing down outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone with no damage reported.
  • The launch came a day after North Korea denounced new U.S. sanctions on individuals and entities tied to cybercrime money laundering and vowed to take “proper measures.”
  • Seoul reported enhanced surveillance and real-time information sharing with the United States and Japan, and the presidential office convened an emergency meeting following the launch.
  • South Korea’s Defense Intelligence Agency told lawmakers the Punggye-ri No. 3 tunnel could be used for a seventh nuclear detonation on short notice, as the North expands enrichment and multiple warhead production lines and fields ICBMs assessed to exceed 13,000 kilometers in range.
  • The DIA also assesses Pyongyang is preparing additional reconnaissance satellite launches with Russian assistance and has supplied roughly 300 short-range ballistic missiles to Russia since October 2023.