North Korea fires ballistic missile, says South Korea’s military

Seoul's military reported that North Korea launched at least one ballistic missile over the Sea of Japan on Wednesday. The missile was detected by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff around 5pm, traveling towards the East Sea. This comes in the wake of heightened tensions between North Korea and Japan, as Tokyo's defence minister recently declared the need for a "sense of urgency and crisis" in boosting Japan's military capabilities.

North Korean state media quoted Kim Yo Jong, sister of leader Kim Jong Un, as stating that Pyongyang's leadership would establish additional military options, which they attributed to Japan's transformation. The JCS in South Korea stated that the missile launch heightened surveillance and readiness for additional launches, sharing information with US and Japanese security allies.

While North Korea has expanded military ties with Russia, supplying resources for Moscow's war in Ukraine, it has long labeled South Korea, a security ally of the US, as its "most hostile" enemy. Japan, in response, has increased its military expenditure to 1.4% of GDP in 2025, maintaining a defensive stance within the limits of its pacifist constitution and international laws.

China, a key ally of North Korea, has expressed concern over perceived "new militarism" by Japan. Despite South Korea's recent shift towards dialogue with nuclear-armed North Korea, without preconditions, the hermetic leadership in Pyongyang has yet to respond to these overtures. The Korean peninsula remains technically in a state of war, as their 1950-1953 conflict concluded with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.