North Korea fires ballistic missile amid tensions over Japan's military buildup

North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile over the Sea of Japan on Thursday Seouls military said after Pyongyang lambasted Tokyo for beefing up its military stance in the PacificNorth Korea has repeatedly declared itself an irreversible nuclear state since leader Kim Jong Uns 2019 summit with US President Donald Trump collapsed over the scope of denuclearisation and sanctions reliefTokyos Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said earlier this week that Japans military needs to be boosted with a sense of urgency and crisis as a new government assessment warned of growing threats from China Russia and North KoreaIn a statement carried by North Korean state media on Wednesday Kim Yo Jong the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un said Pyongyangs leadership will set up additional military options which are obviously due to Japans transformationOur military detected a shortrange ballistic missile launched from the Wonsan area of North Korea at around 500 pm 0800 GMT South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff JCS said in a message to news organisationsThe JCS said earlier the missile was launched towards the East Sea referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of JapanJapans defence ministry also posted on X that something that may be a ballistic missile has been launched from North KoreaA separate post shortly afterwards said there is no longer any impact on the areas around JapanSeoul has strengthened surveillance and maintained readiness for possible additional launches while sharing information with its security allies the United States and Japan the JCS saidNorth Korea has recently deepened economic and military ties with Russia supplying troops and munitions for Moscows war in Ukraine in exchange for financial support food energy and military technology analysts sayIt has also repeatedly branded Seoul a security ally of Washington its most hostile enemyJapans defence ministry declined to comment directly on Kim Yo Jongs Wednesday diatribe but said the countrys defence capabilities remain bare minimum and are not meant to threaten other countriesOurs isnt the defence meant to wage wars but to prevent new wars strictly kept to selfdefence and within the scope of our pacifist Constitution and international laws it said in a statementTokyo raised its military expenditure by 97 percent to 622 billion in 2025 equivalent to 14 percent of GDP its highest share since 1958China a key ally of North Korea has also recently expressed alarm at what it sees as new militarism by JapanSouth Koreas dovish President Lee Jae Myung has reversed the stance of his hawkish predecessor since taking power in Seoul in June 2025 offering nucleararmed Pyongyang talks without preconditionsThe hermetic leadership of North Korea has yet to respond to his repeated offersThe two Koreas remain technically at war because their 195053 conflict ended with an armistice rather than a peace treatyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever