North Korea fired an unidentified projectile into the waters off the Korean Peninsula on Tuesday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff did not provide any further details about the launch, The Korea Herald reported. This launch is the Pyongyang’s first weapons test of this year and comes roughly 80 days after North Korea test-fired submarine-launched ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan in October.
“Our military is maintaining readiness posture in preparation for a possible additional launch while closely monitoring the situation in close cooperation with the United States,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Japan’s coast guard, which was the first to report North Korea’s launch, said the missile may have been ballistic but did not elaborate, Reuters reported.
“Since last year, North Korea has repeatedly launched missiles, which is very regrettable,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Tuesday commented on the current state of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
“We remain committed to achieving lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy with the DPRK. To that end, we’ll continue to seek engagement with the DPRK, part of a calibrated, practical approach in order to more – to make tangible progress that increases the security of the United States, our allies, and our deployed forces. That is our ultimate objective,” Price said.