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| ▲ A ballistic missile is launched toward the East Sea from the Jangyon area in South Hwanghae Province on March 14, 2023, in this file photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) N Korea-missile launch
(LEAD) N. Korea fires ballistic missile toward East Sea: S. Korean military
(ATTN: CHANGES lead para; UPDATES throughout with details; ADDS byline)
By Chae Yun-hwan
SEOUL, June 26 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, amid heightened tensions over Pyongyang's continued launches of trash-carrying balloons.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch but gave no further details, saying an analysis is under way.
The latest launch came hours after the North sent trash-carrying balloons to the South Tuesday night for the second straight day, according to the JCS.
Since late last month, North Korea is estimated to have launched more than 2,000 trash-carrying balloons in a tit-for-tat move against anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets sent by North Korean defectors and activists in the South.
The launch also took place after North Korea on Monday slammed the arrival of a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in South Korea and warned of taking "overwhelming and new" deterrence measures against what it called a "provocative act."
USS Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Saturday, marking the first arrival of a U.S. aircraft carrier in the country in seven months.
President Yoon Suk Yeol boarded the aircraft carrier on Tuesday, saying its visit symbolizes the "firm U.S. security commitment" to South Korea.
The North last launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on May 30.
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