ICBM launch in response to rivals' drills: North Korea

Seoul, March 17

North Korea said on Friday that it fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to “strike fear into the enemies” as South Korea and Japan agreed at a summit to work closely on regional security with the United States 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 Minister Fumio Kishida at a summit partly aimed at rebuilding security ties between the US allies in the face of North Korean nuclear threats.

With four missile displays in about a week, North Korea has ratcheted up its tit-for-tat response to ongoing US-South Korean military drills that are the biggest of their kind in years. — AP