JAKARTA - South Korea's relations with North Korea are heating up again. South Korea's military accused North Korea of firing a ballistic missile on Saturday, May 7.
The North's move comes three days before the inauguration of South Korean president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who vowed to take a firm stand against North Korea.
South Korea's military said North Korea fired a projectile believed to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).
The missile was released into waters off South Korea's east coast at around 0507 GMT, from around Sinpo, where North Korea deployed a submarine and SLBM test equipment.
Japan's defense ministry also tweeted that the projectile could be a ballistic missile. Japanese public broadcaster NHK, citing government sources, said the projectile landed outside its country's exclusive economic zone.
On Wednesday North Korea fired a ballistic missile into waters off its east coast, South Korea and Japan said, after Pyongyang vowed to develop its nuclear arsenal "at the fastest possible pace".
The United States assesses that North Korea is preparing its nuclear test site at Punggye-ri and is ready to carry out tests there as early as this month.
"Rather than accepting an invitation to dialogue, the Kim regime appears to be preparing to test a tactical nuclear-tipped missile. The timing will largely depend on the readiness of the underground passages and modified equipment technology," said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
"The seventh nuclear test will be the first since September 2017 and trigger tensions on the Korean Peninsula, increasing the risk of miscalculation and miscommunication between the Kim regime and Yoon's government," he continued.
Yoon himself took office as South Korea's president on Tuesday. US President Joe Biden will visit South Korea and meet him on May 21.
Last month North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to accelerate his country's development of nuclear weapons. He led a massive military parade that showcased intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), as well as rockets thought to be SLBMs, aboard trucks and launch vehicles.
In October North Korea tested a new ballistic missile that is smaller than a submarine, a move observers say is meant to more quickly deploy active missile submarines.
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