SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea fired an unspecified ballistic missile off its east coast on Wednesday, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, days after South Korea and U.S. leaders agreed to scale up joint military drills and deployment of American weapons.
Japan’s Coast Guard also reported a suspected ballistic missile launch by North Korea.
President Joe Biden and his new South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk-yeol agreed on Saturday to hold bigger military drills and deploy more U.S. strategic assets if necessary to deter North Korea’s intensifying weapons tests.
But they also offered to send COVID-19 vaccines as the isolated North is battling its first confirmed outbreak.
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; editing by Richard Pullin)
