Third North Korean missile launch in two weeks? Seoul investigates

North Korea launched an unidentified projectile toward the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, on Thursday, August 20, as the United States and South Korea conducted their joint Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) military exercises, Yonhap reported, citing South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

South Korean military authorities are analysing the projectile's flight distance and technical characteristics. If the launch is confirmed to have involved a ballistic missile, it would mark North Korea's third ballistic missile launch in the past two weeks.

On August 12, Pyongyang launched a ballistic missile from the Wonsan area that travelled more than 700 kilometres. Another short-range ballistic missile launch was detected on August 6.

 By Tamilla Hasanova