Again, South Korea Calls North Korea Short Distance Ballistic Missiles To The East Sea

Illustration of North Korean missile launch test. (Source: KCNA)

JAKARTA - North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) into the East Sea on Thursday, its first missile provocation within a week, according to the South Korean military.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected a launch from the Wonsan area of Kangwon Province at 10:48 a.m. There were no other details.

"While strengthening our monitoring and vigilance, our military maintains a full posture of readiness in close cooperation with the United States," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.

The launch came shortly after North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui warned North Korea would take "harder" military action if the United States remained on steps to strengthen its "extended preventive" commitment to regional allies.

The expanded prevention refers to America's pledge to use its various military capabilities, both nuclear and conventional, to defend its allies.

US President Joe Biden reiterated the promise during a trilateral summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of an annual regional meeting at Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Sunday.

North Korea previously fired short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on November 9.