North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile into the Yellow Sea on Thursday, South Korea’s military said, according to Reuters.

The launch came after Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said on Tuesday that any move to shoot down one of North Korea’s missile tests would be considered a declaration of war.

The rocket was launched around 18.20. (09:20 GMT) around the North Korean city of Nampho, South Korea’s chiefs of staff said in a statement. The Yellow Sea is located between China and the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea’s military is examining possible options, including whether the neighboring country launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles simultaneously from the same area, the chiefs of staff said in a later statement.

North Korea on Tuesday blamed joint military exercises between the US and South Korea for escalating tensions, state media KCNA reported.

The United States and South Korea will hold large-scale military exercises known as the Freedom Shield exercise starting next week.

The US Indo-Pacific Command said the latest launch posed no threat to the United States or its allies, but said Pyongyang’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs were having a destabilizing effect on the region.

“Beginning in September 2022, North Korea has timed its missile launches and military demonstrations to counter U.S.-South Korean drills, which are likely to try to force the United States and South Korea to change their behavior,” U.S. intelligence agencies said in a statement on Wednesday. threat assessment report.

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