North Korea Allegedly Fired A Ballistic Missile As South Korean President Begins Construction Of Peace Railroad

Illustration of North Korea's test firing of a ballistic missile. (Source: KCNA)

JAKARTA - North Korea allegedly fired a ballistic missile off its east coast on Wednesday, just hours before South Korean President Moon Jae-in attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a railway line he hopes will eventually connect the Korean peninsula.

The launch, the first since October, underscores leader Kim Jong-Un's New Year's pledge to support the military in the face of an unstable international situation amid stalled talks with South Korea and the United States.

The missile was allegedly fired at around 8:10 a.m. local time from an inland location on the east coast and into the sea, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, citing Reuters January 5.

Hours later, President Moon visited South Korea's eastern coastal city of Goseong, near the border with North Korea, where he built a new railway line which he called a "stepping stone for regional peace and balance on the Korean Peninsula."

The missile launch by nuclear-armed North Korea highlights the challenges President Moon faces in his bid to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough before his five-year term ends in May.

Reconnecting the two Koreas by rail was at the heart of a 2018 meeting between Leader Kim and President Moon, but those efforts were fruitless as talks aimed at convincing North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for easing international sanctions stalled in 2019.

Earlier, in a New Year's address Leader, Kim made no mention of South Korea's efforts to restart stalled negotiations or an offer by the United States to talk, although analysts noted that did not mean he had closed the door on diplomacy.

Separately, South Korea's National Security Council convened an emergency meeting, expressing concern the launch was "committed at a time when internal and external stability is critical", calling on North Korea to return to talks.

Meanwhile, Japan's defense minister said the suspected ballistic missile had flown about 500 kilometers (310 miles).

"Since last year, North Korea has repeatedly launched missiles, which is very regrettable," Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters.

Just hours after North Korea's launch, Japan announced its foreign and defense ministers would hold talks with their US counterparts on Friday to discuss security issues.

The White House, Pentagon, and US State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday's launch.

To note, in state media's summary of a speech Kim gave ahead of the New Year, the North Korean leader did not specifically mention missiles or nuclear weapons, but said that national defense should be supported.