North Korea launched a ballistic missile on the 10th. This marks the first ballistic missile provocation since U.S. President Donald Trump took office, and it has been about two months since January 14.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) stated that they detected an unidentified ballistic missile launched around 1:50 p.m. on the 10th from inland Hwanghae Province, North Korea, heading towards the West Sea. The JCS noted, "The military is maintaining a full readiness posture while enhancing surveillance and vigilance in close coordination with the U.S."

On the afternoon of Oct. 10, PAC-3 missiles are deployed at Camp Humphreys, a U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. /Courtesy of News1

The ballistic missile launched by North Korea on that day is reported to have a range of 60 to 100 km. The JCS stated that there is a possibility that North Korea launched a Conventional Short-Range Ballistic Missile (CRBM). A CRBM has a range of less than 300 km and flies at a low altitude.

This ballistic missile is analyzed to be aimed at the Freedom Shield (FS) joint exercise between South Korea and the U.S. North Korea, which has previously referred to the FS exercise as a 'hostile invasion exercise,' strongly protested on the day the FS exercise began. The North Korean Workers' Party's official newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, reported on that day that 'the military actions rampantly carried out by the U.S. will lead to a return to a heightened security crisis.'

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed, "This constitutes an 'aggressive and confrontational war demonstration' and represents a dangerous provocation that could escalate the acute situation on the Korean Peninsula to a critical point, potentially triggering a physical clash between both sides due to an inadvertent shot."