North Korea launches missile into sea amid US-SKorea drills

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the sea as it ramps up testing activities in response to ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills.

U.S. Army soldiers wait to board their CH-47 Chinook helicopter during a joint military drill between South Korea and the United States at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon, South Korea, Sunday, March 19, 2023. North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the sea on Sunday, its neighbors said, ramping up testing activities in response to U.S.-South Korean military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff says the missile launched Sunday morning from the North’s northwestern region flew across the country before it landed in the waters off its east coast.

The launch was the North’s third round of weapons tests since the U.S. and South Korean militaries began joint military drills last week. The North views such drills as an invasion rehearsal.

The chief nuclear envoys from South Korea, Japan and the U.S. condemned the launch as a provocation that threatens peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the region.

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