North Korea launched at least one apparent ballistic missile on Tuesday morning, Japan’s Defense Ministry said, just over a week before a key general election in South Korea.
The ministry said the missile, fired around 7 a.m., had landed in waters of the Sea of Japan minutes after it was fired. The missile was believed to have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from its coast.
South Korea’s military also confirmed the launch — the North’s first since March 18, when it fired off three ballistic missiles — but no other details were immediately available.
Nuclear-armed Pyongyang has widely been expected to continue to ratchet up tensions ahead of the April 10 general election in South Korea — and observers said weapons tests and military exercises could continue in the days ahead.
Official campaigning for that election began Thursday, with President Yoon Suk-yeol’s ruling People’s Power Party aiming to win a parliamentary majority amid attempts by the opposition to leave him a lame duck for the remaining three years of his five-year term.
Yoon has taken a hard line against his country’s neighbor to the North, cementing ties with its ally, the United States and dramatically improving security relations with Japan after bilateral ties plummeted to their worst in decades over history and trade issues.