SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile Saturday, ramping up tensions just days before South Korea holds a presidential election and as global attention is diverted toward Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
North Korea fired at least one unidentified projectile into the sea off the country’s eastern coast Saturday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chief of Staff. The Japanese government said it suspected the launch was of a ballistic missile and Kyodo News cited officials as saying the projectile landed outside outside of the country’s exclusive economic zone.
Further details were not immediately available and North Korea typically doesn’t comment on its tests until about a day after the fact.
North Korea often uses its provocations for political purposes. The latest launch comes days before South Koreans go to the polls on March 9 to elect a new leader and as the Biden administration is tied up with one of its greatest international challenges — the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
North Korea’s last test was on Feb. 27 when Pyongyang said it fired off a rocket in a test of a reconnaissance satellite. While the country has long said it’s entitled under international law to have a civilian space program, the U.S. and others have accused it of using a satellite program as a cover to bolster its ballistic missiles for the military.
In January, North Korea fired off its biggest monthly series of tests during Kim Jong Un’s decade in power. The barrage culminated in the Jan. 30 launch of an intermediate-range Hwasong-12 ballistic missile that reached an altitude of 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles).
The Hwasong-12 launch effectively ended a halt to long-range missile tests put in place before Kim’s first summit in 2018 with for then U.S. President Donald Trump. Nuclear disarmament discussions broke down after Trump halted a summit with Kim in 2019 and the North Korean leader has so far shown no interest in calls from the Biden administration to get back to the table.
