North Korea fires MISSILE toward Sea of Japan Russia’s invasion of Ukraine spikes tensions globally

North Korea has fired an unidentified projectile eastward towards the Sea of Japan, according to South Korea‘s military.

The launch came after North Korea conducted seven rounds of missile tests, including the launch of  an intermediate-range ballistic missile launch on January 30.   

Sunday morning’s launch would be the Kim Jong-un regime’s eighth show of force this year. 

Pedestrians walk past a screen displaying a map explaining North Korea’s missile launch from the land of the country toward the Sea of Japan (file photo from September 2021)

Sunday morning’s launch would be the Kim Jong-un regime’s eighth show of force this year

Last month, North Korea said that it was lifting its yearslong self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests suggesting it could engage in further provocative actions down the road.

The continued saber-rattling from Pyongyang comes amid a deadlock in nuclear talks with Washington.   

Sunday’s launch comes a month after North Korea fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate range ballistic missile, the largest weapon fired since 2017, in a test that capped a record month of mostly short-range missile launches in January.

Amid stalled denuclearization talks with the United States, North Korea has suggested it could resume testing its longer range missiles or even nuclear weapons.

North Korea tests fire what appears to be a Hwasong-12 intermediate and long-range ballistic missile test. Pictured here in 2017

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observes what state media report is a hypersonic missile test at an undisclosed location in North Korea last month