ROK: N. Korea fires short-range ballistic missile

By Takayuki Nakagawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

16:14 JST, November 17, 2022

SEOUL — North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan on Thursday morning, the South Korean military said.

The missile was fired at about 10:48 a.m. from the Wonsan area in Kangwon Province, eastern North Korea, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.

During a summit of the Japanese, U.S. and South Korean leaders in Cambodia on Sunday, Washington reaffirmed its commitment to defending allies Tokyo and Seoul through efforts to strengthen the “extended deterrence.”

Pyongyang’s latest missile launch might have been in response to the move.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui issued a statement Thursday condemning the trilateral summit and warned of a fiercer military response if the United States increases its military involvement on the Korean Peninsula.

At a press conference in Tokyo on Thursday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said, “We will continue to conduct surveillance by collecting and analyzing necessary information and monitoring North Korea’s military moves in close contact with the United States, South Korea, and other countries.”