South Korea says North Korea has fired a ballistic missile toward the North’s eastern waters

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the North’s eastern waters on Thursday, South Korea's military said.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a brief statement that the launch took place Thursday morning but gave no further details.

The launch, the North's first weapons firing in more than two months, came three days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to vowed to redouble efforts to make his nuclear force fully ready for combat with the United States and its allies.

Kim made such a pledge saying North Korea faces “a grave threat” because of what he called “the reckless expansion” of a U.S.-led regional military bloc that is now developing into a nuclear-based one.

Last week, North Korea also resumed launches of trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea.

Since 2022, North Korea has significantly accelerated its weapons testing activities in a bid to perfect its capabilities to launch strikes on the U.S. and South Korea. The U.S. and South Korea have responded by expanding military drills that North Korea calls invasion rehearsals.