North Korea fired on Saturday projectiles “unidentified” in an easterly direction, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported in a brief statement without offering further details.
The launch comes following the North Korean regime carried out a record number of missile tests in a single month (seven) and just 10 days before the presidential elections in South Korea.
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These provocations appear to be a return to the classic strategy of pressure and escalations of tension followed by a relaxation that the Kim regime has used before.
Pyongyang last month also suggested it might end its self-imposed moratorium on launching long-range missiles and nuclear tests in the face of failed dialogue with the US.
For its part, the Japanese Government indicated that it would be a projectile fired towards the Sea of Japan (called the East Sea in the two Koreas) and that it would be a ballistic missile, while the Japanese Coast Guard indicated that it would have already fallen into Water.
In recent years, the North Korean regime has tried increasingly sophisticated projectiles (including hypersonic missiles) and difficult for countries in the region to identify and likely to intercept.
The North Korean launch also comes following North Korea has chosen not to carry out any weapons tests in the last four weeks, coinciding with the celebration of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
