By Josh Smith and Joyce Lee
SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea on Thursday fired a short-range ballistic missile toward the Yellow Sea, located between China and the Korean Peninsula, South Korea’s military said.
The launch follows a statement on Tuesday by Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, that any move to shoot down one of North Korea’s test missiles would be considered a declaration of war.
The missile was fired at about 6:20 p.m. (0920 GMT) from around Nampo, North Korea, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
On Tuesday, North Korea blamed a joint military exercise between the United States and South Korea for growing tensions, state media KCNA said.
The United States and South Korea will conduct large-scale military exercises known as the “Freedom Shield” drills starting next week.
(Reporting by Josh Smith and Joyce Lee; editing by Jason Neely and Bernadette Baum)
