Updated Sep 28, 2022 - World

North Korea launches missile as VP Harris prepares to visit Seoul

Ivana Saric

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is shown on a television screen at a train station in Seoul on Septeber 9, 202 — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is shown on a television screen on Sept. 9. Photo: Anothony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images

North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward South Korea's eastern waters on Wednesday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff announced in a statement, AP reported.

Why it matters: The move comes a day before Vice President Kamala Harris is set to arrive in South Korea as part of her trip to Asia, which will include a stop at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

The big picture: Wednesday’s missile launch was preceded by an earlier one, on Sunday, and came amid fears that Pyongyang is preparing its first nuclear weapons test since 2017.

In confirming that the missile had been detected, South Korea's military did not offer further details as to where the missile had been launched or how far it had traveled.
U.S. and South Korean naval ships have been conducting drills this week off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula that have angered North Korea.
Harris will be the most-senior Biden administration official to visit the DMZ, which divides the two Koreas.
Former President Donald Trump in 2019 became the first U.S. president to cross the DMZ and enter into North Korea.

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North Korea launches missile as VP Harris prepares to visit Seoul

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