Seoul:

North Korea fired a “long-range ballistic missile” on Thursday, South Korea’s military said, Pyongyang’s first weapons test after Seoul accused it of sending tens of thousands of troops to Russia.

South Korea’s military warned a day earlier that the nuclear-armed North was preparing to test another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or possibly conduct a nuclear test ahead of next week’s US election. can

“Our military detected a ballistic missile fired from the Pyongyang area toward the East Sea at approximately 7:10 AM (2210 GMT) this morning,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, referring to the body of water. ” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of ​​Japan.

“A ballistic missile is considered a long-range missile, launched from a high angle,” it said.

North Korea typically tests its longest-range and most powerful missiles at a so-called high-velocity — fire-up, not-out — rate that it says is higher than that of neighboring countries. Avoid flying.

Seoul’s JCS added, “Our military has raised the alert level and is closely sharing information about North Korea’s ballistic missiles with US and Japanese authorities, maintaining a posture of full readiness. Keeping”.

Tokyo also confirmed the possible launch, with Japan’s coast guard reporting a “possible ballistic missile launch from North Korea” and warning ships to exercise caution.

The launch came hours after the US and South Korean defense chiefs withdrew their troops from Pyongyang to Russia, where Washington says about 10,000 have been deployed for possible action against Ukrainian forces. .

– Arms to Russia –

The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States condemned North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia in the “strongest” terms at the allies’ annual defense talks at the Pentagon on Wednesday.

Seoul has previously said the nuclear-armed North’s rapid deployment poses a “significant security threat”, with thousands of troops being moved into western Russia, the military told lawmakers on Wednesday.

A presidential official said that “the fact that such a large number of officials have gone to the West, it is unlikely that they went simply to observe”.

Seoul, a major arms exporter, has said it is evaluating whether to send arms directly to Ukraine in response, which it has previously resisted because of a longstanding domestic policy that allows it to actively Prohibits the provision of arms in conflict.

Seoul has long accused the nuclear-armed North of sending weapons to Moscow to help fight Kiev and accused Kim Jong-un of signing a mutual defense pact with Russian President Vladimir Putin in June. Pyongyang has since deployed troops on a large scale.

North Korea has denied sending troops, but in earlier comments to state media last week, its deputy foreign minister said such a deployment would be in accordance with international law.

Pyongyang has been barred by multiple rounds of UN sanctions from testing its use of ballistic technology, but Kim Jong-un has stepped up testing this year, with experts warning that he could sell weapons to Russia before they do so. Can check it.

(Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)



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