South Korea says the projectile was a ballistic missile. This then fell into the Sea of ​​Japan.

NNorth Korea has fired another ballistic missile, according to the South Korean military. The missile flew towards the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan, the General Staff in Seoul said on Sunday. Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that the missile fell outside Japan's exclusive economic zone. Further details were initially unknown.

The self-proclaimed nuclear power North Korea is prohibited by UN resolutions from launching or even testing ballistic missiles of any range. Such missiles can also be equipped with a nuclear warhead. North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un wants to expand weapons development, including tactical nuclear weapons. In response, South Korea and the United States have increased defense cooperation and held joint military exercises.

Pyongyang last tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in December that could theoretically reach the United States. In November, the country launched its first military spy satellite. Tensions on the Korean peninsula have recently increased significantly again. At the beginning of January, artillery was used near the disputed maritime border between North and South Korea. North Korea fired more than 200 projectiles into the sea, to which South Korea responded with “appropriate” live-fire exercises, according to its defense ministry.

According to a report by the North Korean state news agency KCNA, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui is expected in Russia on Monday. At the invitation of her counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Choe will be in Russia until Wednesday. Citing intelligence findings, the United States accuses North Korea of ​​supplying Russia with ballistic missiles and launchers. The governments in Moscow and Pyongyang have denied arms deals. However, they had announced that they would deepen their military cooperation.