North Korea says missile launch was response to rivals’ drills

(Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korea said it fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to “strike fear into the enemies” as South Korea and Japan agreed to work closely on regional security with the US and staged military exercises around the region.

The missile was launched on Thursday morning, hours before South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Japanese Prime Minster Fumio Kishida at a summit partly aimed at rebuilding security ties between the US allies in the face of North Korean nuclear threats.