SEOUL: North Korea on Monday fired a ballistic missile, said Seoul’s military as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is currently on a visit to South Korea to hold meeting top officials.
Blinken is in South Korea for the third Summit for Democracy, an initiative taken by President Joe Biden.
Washington and Seoul, key security allies concluded their major annual joint military drills last week, prompting angry retorts from Pyongyang.
Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea. Japan also confirmed the missile test as Japan Coast Guard said the objects appeared to have already fallen in the sea.
The development comes just days after the annual Freedom Shield exercise ended Thursday. The 11 days of joint drills were aimed at enhancing South Korean and American deterrence against the North Korea’s nuclear threats.
Pyongyang this month warned that Seoul and Washington would pay a higher price over the Freedom Shield drills.
The nuclear-armed North has long denounced joint US-South Korea military exercises terming them rehearsals for an invasion.
Earlier, Blinken arrived in Soul on Sunday just before of the democracy summit, which runs from March 18 to 20.
South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol has strengthened ties with Washington and sought to bury the historical hatchet with Japan to better guard against Pyongyang’s threats.
Pyongyang has declared South Korea its principal enemy rejecting any possibility of reunification and outreach.
Blinken is expected to meet with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae Yul. The meeting will cover how to enhance Washington, Seoul ties.
