North Korea has fired ballistic missile toward sea, says S Korea military

North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the sea on Thursday, South Korea's military said, days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to put his nuclear force fully ready for battle with its rivals.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a brief statement that the launch took place off North Korea's eastern coast on Thursday morning but gave no further details like how far the weapon traveled.

Japan's Prime Minister's Office also alerted on its X account that North Korea had launched a suspected ballistic missile, but did not provide further details.

The launch is North Korea's first public weapons firing in more than two months. On July 1, North Korea claimed to have tested a new tactical weapon capable of delivering a super-large 4.5 ton-class warhead.

In a speech Monday, Kim said he would redouble efforts to make his nuclear force fully ready for combat with the United States and its allies. Kim made such a pledge saying North Korea faces a grave threat because of