North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile on Sunday, the fourth show of force in a week as South Korea and the United States conduct major military exercises.

In response to the North’s increasing military and nuclear threats, Seoul and Washington have increased defence cooperation.

South Korea and the United States are in the midst of Freedom Shield, their largest joint drills in five years.

North Korea regards all such exercises as rehearsals for invasion and has repeatedly warned that it will respond with overwhelming force.

Statement by Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of South Korea

“At 11:05 a.m. (0205 GMT), our military detected one short-range ballistic missile fired from around the Tongchang-ri area in North Pyongan province towards the East Sea”, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, referring to the Sea of Japan.

The JCS described the launch as “a serious provocation” that violated UN sanctions.

“The missile flew 800 kilometres (500 miles) and was being analyzed by US and South Korean intelligence”, the JCS said in a statement.

The statement further read, “By conducting intensive and comprehensive combined exercises and drills, our military will maintain a firm readiness posture based on its ability to overwhelmingly respond to any provocation by North Korea”.

Tokyo also verified the launch, with deputy defence minister Toshiro Ino telling the media Japan had “lodged a vigorous protest to and severely criticised (North Korea) through our embassy in Beijing”.

The launch was denounced by the US military’s Indo-Pacific Command, which said that it showed “the destabilising consequences” of North Korea’s restricted weapons programmes.

South Korea’s defence ministry announced hours after the launch that it had conducted joint air drills with the US, which included at least one US B-1B long-range bomber.

The drills, part of the Freedom Shield exercise, also included South Korean F-35A stealth fighter jets and US F-16 fighter jets. “The exercise significantly improved the allies’ interoperability… and wartime capabilities”, as reported by the ministry.

Also read: U.S. News Reporter Collapses During A Live Broadcast