Seoul, South Korea
CNN
—
North Korea launched a ballistic missile towards waters off its east coast on Wednesday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
This marks the 32nd day this year that North Korea has carried out a missile test, according to a CNN count. The tally includes both ballistic and cruise missiles.
By contrast, it conducted only four tests in 2020, and eight in 2021.
The launch comes during midterm elections in the United States, with votes still being counted as Democrats and Republicans vie for control over Congress.
Tensions in the Korean Peninsula have steadily risen this year, with South Korea and the US responding to Pyongyang’s missile tests by stepping up joint drills and military exercises, as well as their own missile tests.
On Monday, North Korean state media released images purporting to show last week’s missile launches with a warning that the so-called “reckless military hysteria” of the US and its allies was moving the peninsula towards “unstable confrontation.”
Pyongyang’s missiles and air force drills prove its “will to counter the combined air drill of the enemy,” said the report.
This is a developing story.
