North Korea fires second ballistic missile in week before US-South Korea drills

North Korea launched a ballistic missile on August 11, marking its second test in less than a week, according to reports from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, Japan's Defense Ministry, and U.S. Pacific Command. The missile was fired from the Wonsan area on North Korea's eastern coast around 6 a.m. local time and traveled approximately 690 kilometers (435 miles) at a maximum altitude of about 90 kilometers before landing in the Sea of Japan, outside Japan's exclusive economic zone.

South Korea and Japan issued formal diplomatic protests in response to the launch. Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi stated that Tokyo lodged a strong protest through diplomatic channels via its embassy in Beijing, characterizing the launch as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions. South Korea's presidential national security council described the test as "an act of provocation" and called for North Korea to cease ballistic missile launches. South Korea's military boosted its surveillance posture and coordinated with the United States and Japan following the incident.

The timing of the launch—two days before the scheduled start of the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercise on August 17—reflects an established pattern. The 11-day joint US-South Korea drill will involve approximately 18,000 South Korean soldiers and aims to enhance readiness against North Korean threats. North Korea has historically responded to such exercises with weapons tests and harsh rhetoric, characterizing the drills as invasion rehearsals, though the United States and South Korea maintain the training is defensive in nature.

This launch follows a previous ballistic missile test on August 6, North Korea's first such test since late June. North Korea typically does not immediately confirm its weapons launches but generally releases details within a day. The recent test series occurs within a broader context: since diplomatic negotiations between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019 over sanctions disputes, North Korea has conducted multiple weapons tests to expand its nuclear and missile capabilities. Experts assess that Kim may be seeking to leverage an enlarged arsenal to negotiate sanctions relief from the United States.