North Korea launched a suspected ballistic missile toward its Eastern waters on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, according to both South Korean and Japanese officials, about a week after the North Korea said it would develop its nuclear capabilities “at the fastest possible speed”.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) noted in a statement that “North Korea fired an unidentified projectile Eastward”, but without giving further details.

The launch is the North’s 14th weapons test this year (2022), and comes less than a week before South Korea’s newly elected President Yoon Suk-yeol, a Conservative, who is due to be sworn into office on May 10, 2022. Pyongyang (North Korea’s capital) last month (April 2022) tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) since 2017, as it notched-up diplomatic pressure on its regional neighbours and the United States.

Reports noted that military authorities are analyzing details of the launch with the possibility that it involved a medium to long-range ballistic missile, such as an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM).

Although the JCS gave no details about the projectile, including its flight range and altitude, Japan’s Coast Guard disclosed that it could be a ballistic missile. According to a media organisation which is focused on North Korea, it obtained photographs showing a plume of white smoke against a blue sky with a vertical trajectory. The media firm also added that projectile was launched from the Pyongyang area and flew for about 20 minutes.

The Japanese Coast Guard urged vessels off Japanese coasts to stay away from possible fragments. Observers say North Korea’s unusually fast pace in weapons testing this year underscores its dual goal of advancing its missile programmes and applying pressure on Washington over a deepening freeze in nuclear negotiations.

Last week, North Korean Leader, Kim Jong Un, promised to speed up the development of his country’s nuclear arsenal as he watched a huge military parade to mark the anniversary of the founding of thecountry’s army. In the sight of this development, denuclearisation talks with the United States still remain stalled.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s incoming President, Yoon Suk-yeol, is expected to take a more hawkish approach to the North than his predecessor, Moon Jae-in. President-elect Suk-yeol has vowed to boost Seoul’s missile capability and solidify its military alliance with Washington to better cope with increasing North Korean nuclear threats.

North Korea launched an ICBM from the Sunan area on March 24, 2022, and has since claimed afterwards that it successfully tested the new Hwasong-17 ICBM. But South Korea slammed down North Korea’s assertions, pointing out that it was a modified version of the smaller Hwasong-15.