By Hyunsu Yim

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile in direction of the ocean off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday, the South Korean army stated, the newest in a barrage of weapons assessments from the nuclear-armed state.

The missile, which was launched from the Dongchang-ri website on the west coast at round 11:05 a.m. (0205 GMT), flew some 800 km (500 miles) earlier than hitting a goal, in response to a South Korean army assertion.

South Korea has condemned the sequence of current ballistic missile launches by the North as a “clear violation” of a U.N. Safety Council decision. The launches have additionally prompted criticism from Japan and the US.

“North Korea’s habits threatens worldwide peace and safety, and is unacceptable,” Japan’s state minister of protection Toshiro Ino stated at a information convention, including Japan had protested strongly by way of North Korea’s embassy in Beijing.  

In an announcement, the US Indo-Pacific Command stated Sunday’s missile launch doesn’t pose a direct menace to U.S. personnel or to its allies. However the current missile launches spotlight the destabilising influence of the nation’s illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile applications, it added.

The North on Thursday fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the ocean between the Korean peninsula and Japan, hours earlier than South Korea’s president flew to Tokyo for a summit that mentioned methods to counter the North.

Pyongyang stated Thursday’s launch of its ICBM was a warning towards ongoing U.S.-South Korea army drills, state media KCNA reported.

South Korean and American forces kicked off 11-day joint army drills dubbed “Freedom Defend 23” early final week which have been held on a scale not seen since 2017 to counter the North’s rising threats.