North Korea Fired a New Ballistic Missile

On Wednesday, December 8, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea announced that North Korea has launched a ballistic missile. The official South Korean news agency, Yonhap, reported this news. The Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that the missile was fired towards the east and that the South Korean military, along with the United States, is evaluating the details of this launch. The U.S. Department of Defense, the Pentagon, also stated that it has tracked a 'possible' missile launch by North Korea. Colonel Robert Manning told reporters, 'We tracked a possible missile test by North Korea. We are assessing the situation and will provide more details if they become available.' He mentioned that this potential launch was tracked at 1:30 PM Eastern Time. According to Reuters, two sources in the U.S. government had previously indicated that government experts believe North Korea will conduct a new missile test within the next few days. This is the first ballistic missile launch by Pyongyang since mid-September. A Japanese government source early Tuesday reported that the country had detected a series of radio signals indicating that North Korea might be preparing for another ballistic missile launch, although these signals were not unusual and satellite images did not show any new activity. North Korea had stopped missile launches since late September after firing two to three missiles each month since May. Last week, Pyongyang condemned the decision of Donald Trump's administration to place North Korea on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, describing it as 'provocation and a serious violation.' This action will lead the U.S. government to impose stricter sanctions on Pyongyang, although experts express concern about the potential for increased tensions as a result of these sanctions.