North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile off its east coast on June 5, South Korea’s military stated.
South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said it was an “unknown” missile and didn’t immediately specify how far it flew.
“We are prepared to make both short and longer-term adjustments to our military posture as appropriate and responding to any [North Korea] provocation and as necessary to strengthen both defense and deterrence to protect our allies in the region,” he said. “We want to make clear to the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or North Korea] that its unlawful and destabilizing activities have consequences and that the international community will not accept these actions as normal.”
“While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies, these missile launches highlight the destabilizing impact of the DPRK’s illicit weapons program,” the statement reads. “The U.S. commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea and Japan remains ironclad.”
Talks led by the United States seeking to get North Korea to advance denuclearization, including surrendering its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile arsenal, have been stalled since February 2019. At the time, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and then-President Donald Trump were unable to come to an agreement over disputes about U.S.-led international sanctions on Pyongyang.
The latest missile launch also comes a day after the U.S. aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan concluded a three-day naval drill with South Korea in the Philippine Sea, apparently their first drill involving a carrier since November 2017.