North Korea launches second ballistic missile test within a week

North Korea fired a ballistic missile from its eastern Wonsan area at around 6 a.m. Wednesday, with the weapon travelling more than 700 kilometres before landing in waters outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Japanese Defence Ministry.

This marks the second such test in less than a week. The first, on August 6, involved a short-range ballistic missile and was North Korea's first ballistic weapons test since late June. Analysts link the latest launches to the upcoming Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises between South Korea and the US, set to begin August 17, which Pyongyang regards as a rehearsal for invasion.

South Korea's military said it remains ready to repel any provocation from the North in cooperation with the United States, while the country's national security council labelled the launches "acts of provocation" and called for them to stop immediately. Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Japan lodged a strong protest through its embassy channels in Beijing, calling the launch a serious threat to the safety of the Japanese public.

Multiple UN Security Council resolutions prohibit North Korea from conducting ballistic missile launches, but Pyongyang has continued expanding its nuclear and missile capabilities since talks between Kim Jong Un and then-US President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019. Observers believe Kim aims to use an enlarged arsenal as leverage to secure concessions from Washington, including eased economic sanctions. North Korea has also deepened ties with Russia in recent years, supplying troops and ammunition for its war in Ukraine, and has worked to strengthen relations with China, whose president, Xi Jinping, visited Pyongyang in June for the first time in seven years.