Potentially nuclear-capable – North Korea fires short-range missile again

North Korea has fired another potentially nuclear-capable short-range missile. The missile was launched on Thursday morning (local time) from the Wonsan region in Kangwon province, the South Korean general staff said. The South Korean army remains on high alert and is coordinating with the United States. No further details were initially given. Most recently, North Korea tested a potentially nuclear-capable missile on November 9th.

Pyongyang had previously threatened a "stronger" military response to security efforts by the US and its allies in the region. North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said US announcements of an "enhanced military deterrent" on the Korean peninsula are "stupid". The more Washington expands its security partnership with Tokyo and Seoul, "the more violent North Korea's military counteraction will be," Choe stressed.

UN resolutions ban North Korea, a self-declared nuclear power, from testing ballistic missiles of any range that can be armed with a nuclear warhead. Recently, tensions on the Korean peninsula had increased significantly. North Korea had therefore recently intensified its missile tests. Earlier this month, Pyongyang fired more than 20 rockets in one day - more than in all of 2017, when ruler Kim Jong Un exchanged blows with then-US President Donald Trump on the online network Twitter and other media. There have been more than 50 North Korean missile tests since the beginning of the year. In addition, North Korea has continued to heat up tensions in the region in recent weeks, including with artillery barrages.

Washington and Seoul have been warning for months that North Korea could conduct a nuclear weapons test in the near future. It would be the first such test since 2017. North Korea has conducted six nuclear weapons tests since 2006.