Now Reading: North Korea fires ballistic missile ahead of US-South Korea drills
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North Korea fires ballistic missile ahead of US-South Korea drills
North Korea fires ballistic missile ahead of US-South Korea drills
North Korea launched a ballistic missile from its eastern coastal Wonsan area around 6 am on Wednesday (August 12, 2026), flying more than 700 km, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.…
The Story in Brief
North Korea launched a ballistic missile from its eastern coastal Wonsan area around 6 am on Wednesday (August 12, 2026), flying more than 700 km, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The test, the second in less than a week, is likely a protest against the upcoming annual South Korea-US military drills, which begin on August 17 and which Pyongyang views as an invasion rehearsal.
South Korea's presidential national security council called the launch an “act of provocation” that violates UN Security Council resolutions. Japan's Defense Ministry also detected the launch but said it did not enter its exclusive economic zone. The launch follows a short-range ballistic missile test on August 6, which was detected by South Korea, the US, and Japan.
The Indian Opinion
The usual narratives paint North Korea as the lone provocateur, but the upcoming Ulchi Freedom Shield drills are also a deliberate show of force by Seoul and Washington. Both sides use these cycles to demand concessions, while ordinary Koreans pay the price in anxiety. The real test will be whether Kim's expanded arsenal, built since the 2019 Trump diplomacy collapsed, actually wins him sanctions relief at the next round of talks or just deepens the standoff.
Source: thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
