North Korea launches short-range ballistic missile off South Korea's west coast

According to South Korea's military, North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile on Thursday towards the waters off its western coast. The simultaneous firing of up to six missiles, according to local media accounts.

According to AP, the most significant joint military training exercise between the US and South Korea—Freedom Shield—is set to take place next week. The most recent missile launches coincided with this.

The missile was launched at roughly 6:20 p.m. from a location close to the western coastal city of Nampo, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the South. Nevertheless, it was not immediately known how far it travelled or where it came to rest.

Kim Jong's sister warned that North Korea is prepared to launch quick, overwhelming action against the US and South Korea

The most recent launch, according to the US Indo-Pacific Command, presented no threat to the US or its allies. Yet, it claimed that Pyongyang's ballistic missile and WMD programmes have a destabilising impact on the area.

A few days prior to the missile launches, Kim Jong's sister had warned that North Korea is prepared to launch "quick, overwhelming action" against the US and South Korea as the allies step up their military preparation to deal with a growing nuclear threat from the North.

Due to North Korea's increasing nuclear provocations, both South Korea and Japan have felt the need to increase their military capabilities and postures in tandem with their alliances with the US. In spite of his nation's increasing economic isolation and challenges associated to the epidemic, Kim Jong Un has been concentrating on aggressively building up its nuclear weapons.