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N Korea launches missile into sea amid US-S Korea drills

Last Updated Mar 18, 2023 at 9:00 pm MDT

FILE - In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a meeting of the ruling Workers' Party at its headquarters in Pyongyang, North Korea, Feb. 26, 2023. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Japan says North Korea has launched a suspected missile toward the sea.

Japan’s coast guard said it confirmed that what appeared to be a North Korean missile was fired Sunday morning.

Further launch details were not immediately available, it said.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency cited the South’s military as saying that North Korea had fired a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters.

Calls to the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff were not immediately answered on Sunday.

The launch, if confirmed, would be the North’s fourth round of weapons tests since the U.S. and South Korean militaries began joint military drills last week.

The North views the drills as an invasion rehearsal.

The Associated Press