North Korea fires ballistic missile toward sea off east coast

North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Wednesday toward the sea off the Korean Peninsula's east coast, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. The launch, detected from the Wonsan area at around 6 a.m. local time, was reported to have landed outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, Japanese broadcaster NHK said.

South Korea's military said it has stepped up surveillance and is maintaining readiness for possible additional launches, while sharing information closely with the United States and Japan.

The test comes just days before South Korea and the United States are set to begin major joint military drills from August 17 to 27, exercises that Pyongyang has long condemned as provocative. The North has repeatedly objected to such annual maneuvers, viewing them as preparations for an invasion.

Tensions have also been fueled by rhetoric over Japan's latest defence white paper, which North Korean state media on Tuesday criticized as a document aimed at reviving militarism. Pyongyang accused Tokyo of using an unfounded portrayal of the North as a security threat to justify an arms buildup.

This year has seen a series of North Korean weapons tests, including short-range ballistic missiles, artillery rockets, and other tactical systems. Last week, the South Korean military reported another short-range ballistic missile launch toward the sea.

Separately, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Moscow used a North Korean ballistic missile in a Russian attack on Tuesday that killed seven workers at a steel plant in Zaporizhzhia.