South Korea announced that North Korea launched an unidentified ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan Monday, in the first missile testing of 2025.
The report is backed up by the Japanese Coast Guard, who also reported a fallen object believed to be a North Korean missile. This is the first Pyongyang missile launch in two months, the timing of which lines up with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Seoul, where he is scheduled to meet with South Korean leaders. It is also the first weapons test since Kim Jong Un was accused of sending soldiers to aid Russia’s fight against Ukraine. North Korea tested its self-reported most advanced missile, an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), only last November.
South Korea responded to Pyongyang’s launch by firing their own missiles into the sea in a display of force. Tensions in the area remain high, as South Korea has experienced political crisis in the weeks following President Yoon Sook Yeol’s hours-long declaration of martial law on December 3rd. North Korean state media reported last week that South Korea had “descended into chaos” and political paralysis as investigators attempted to carry out an arrest warrant for Yoon.