Kathmandu— North Korea conducted a ballistic missile test early Wednesday morning, launching it from the Wonsan area towards the East Sea, according to officials in Seoul and Tokyo. The launch comes just days before planned joint military drills between the United States and South Korea—exercises Pyongyang routinely condemns as rehearsals for invasion—and marks the second such test in less than a week. Details of the missile’s trajectory are currently under analysis by Japan, the US, and South Korea.

Missile Test Details

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff reported detecting the launch around 6:00 am local time (2100 GMT Tuesday). Initial assessments indicate the missile fell outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan. Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi described the launch as a “threat to peace and security in our region” and confirmed Tokyo lodged a protest with North Korea through diplomatic channels in Beijing. No reports of damage have been confirmed at this time.

Regional Response and Concerns

The missile test is viewed by many analysts as a direct response to the upcoming US-South Korea joint military drills, scheduled to begin August 17th. These annual exercises are designed to enhance defense coordination between the two allies against North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. Lim Eul-chul, a North Korea expert at Kyungnam University, explained that “North Korea has never simply let a South Korea-US joint military exercise pass without a response.” He added that this launch is likely a signal from Pyongyang indicating it is closely monitoring the drills and may escalate tensions if deemed necessary.

Past Provocations

This isn’t the first time North Korea has timed missile tests around US-South Korean exercises. Following last year's drills, Kim Jong Un claimed they were more provocative than previous iterations and demonstrated a willingness from Seoul and Washington to “ignite a war.” He stated that this prompted North Korea to prepare “proactive and overwhelming” countermeasures. A similar short-range ballistic missile launch was detected on August 6th, marking the first such activity since late June. Pyongyang has not yet officially confirmed either of these launches.

Ongoing Analysis

Japan’s prime minister has instructed officials to maintain a state of full readiness as analysis continues. The details of Wednesday's launch are currently being closely examined by authorities in Japan, the United States and South Korea.

As of Wednesday afternoon, North Korea had not released any official statement regarding the missile test. Further developments are expected as regional powers continue to analyze the event and prepare for the upcoming joint military drills.

(With inputs from DW)

Originally published on abcnews.com.np.