North Korea launched at least one ballistic missile early Wednesday morning, Japan’s Defense Ministry said, with the missile appearing to splash down just minutes after the launch was detected.
The short flight time indicated that the weapon may have been a short-range missile. The weapon was believed not to have landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the coast.
The South Korean military also confirmed the launch of an unidentified ballistic missile towards the Sea of Japan.
The launch came a week after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a “strategic partnership treaty” that included a mutual defense pledge, upgrading relations to a level Kim said was on par lay as a formal alliance.
Japan, South Korea and the United States on Monday condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the deepening of military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.
