Ahead of Seoul-Washington joint tabletop exercise, North Korea missile lands in Japan exclusive economic zone

Days before Seoul and Washington are scheduled to start tabletop exercise, North Korea on Saturday fired at least one unspecified ballistic missile, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. This is said to be Pyongyang's first missile launch since the start of the year."North Korea fires an unidentified ballistic missile into (the) East Sea," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff was quoted as saying by news agency AFP. He referred to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan. Shortly after, Japan confirmed that an "ICBM-class" missile was fired byPyongyang.North Korea "fired one intercontinental ballistic missile-class ballistic missile toward the east. It flew for about 66 minutes," chief government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. The missile reportedly landed inJapan's exclusive economic zone.

Here are the top developmentson this story:

1) The North's first exercise since January 1 comes ahead of the Seoul-Washington joint tabletop exercisedue onWednesday at the Pentagon.

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2) At the allied nuclear drills, called the Deterrence Strategy Committee Tabletop Exercise,senior defence policymakers from both sides will take part, Seoul's defence ministry said.The allies willdiscuss possible responses to the North's likely nuclear threat.

3)The South Korea-US exercise next week is set to focus on "joint planning, joint management and joint response with Washington's nuclear assets" in case of a nuclear attack by Pyongyang," a ministry official told AFP.

4)On Friday, North Korea threatened an "unprecedentedly" strong response to upcoming US-South Korea drills, describing them as preparations for war. If Washington and Seoul go ahead with the drills, "they will face unprecedentedly persistent and strong counteractions", a spokesperson for the North Korea foreign ministry was quoted as saying in reports.

5) The Korean Peninsula has seen a rise in military tensions ever since North Korea declared itself an "irreversible" nuclear state.

6)Pyongyang has been carrying out sanctions-defying weapons' tests nearly every month despite international criticism.

7) The hermit nation has rebuffed condemnation, saying that it faces threat from Washington and other allies.

8) South Korea and the US are also reportedlyplanning a range of expanded field exercises, includinglive fire drills, in the coming weeks and months, news agency Reuters reported.

9) Footages that emerged after a February 9 parade in the North suggest that the country may have created a military unit tasked with operating newintercontinental ballistic missiles or ICBMs.

10) The massive parade showed more ICBMs than ever before, including what is believed to bea solid fuel weapon.

(With inputs from agencies)

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