N. Korea Detects Firing Suspected Ballistic Missile into Sea

A purported ballistic missile was fired into the sea by North Korea, the first such launch in in two months, according to Sky News.

The move, which was picked up by the forces of South Korea and Japan, emphasises Pyongyang's aversion to returning to denuclearisation discussions anytime soon, preferring instead to concentrate on expanding its weapon stockpile.

At a high-level party congress last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to strengthen his military capability with powerful, contemporary weaponry.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea has fired a suspected ballistic missile at its eastern waters following the launching on Wednesday.

It went on to say that South Korean and US security agencies were attempting to piece together more information regarding the launching.

According to the presidential Blue House, members of South Korea's presidential national security team expressed their concerns in an emergency video conference, saying that resuming discussions with Pyongyang would be critical to resolving tensions.

The North Korean launch was also detected by the Japanese Defense Ministry, which believes the country fired a missile.

"We find it deeply regretful that North Korea has continued to fire missiles since last year," Fumio Kishida, Japan's prime minister, told reporters.

Between September and November, North Korea conducted a series of weapons tests in an effort to increase pressure on its adversaries to acknowledge it as a nuclear power state in exchange for respite from economic sanctions, according to experts.

A submarine-launched ballistic missile and a prototype hypersonic missile were among the weapons tested last year.

North Korea had stopped testing since their artillery firing drills in early November until Wednesday's launch.