North Korea fired an “Unidentified Projectile”

North Korea fired an “unidentified projectile” on Sunday to the East Sea, also known as the Sea of ​​Japan, according to the South Korean Army, the latest in a series of missile tests carried out by Pyongyang in recent weeks.

It is North Korea’s seventh weapons test so far this year, as the regime flexes its military muscle while ignoring US offers of dialogue.

The last time North Korea tested so many weapons in a month was in 2019, after high-profile negotiations between dictator Kim Jong Un and then-US President Donald Trump collapsed. Since then, talks with the United States have stalled, and the country is reeling economically from scathing international sanctions and a self-imposed isolation by COVID-19.

“North Korea fired an unidentified projectile into the East Sea (Sea of ​​Japan),” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. Japan’s coast guard, meanwhile, said it had detected a “possible ballistic missile” launch.

Pyongyang carried out two weapons tests last week, and has conducted at least four other weapons tests this month – including what it called hypersonic missiles on January 5 and 11.

On Friday, state media published photos showing Kim in his usual belted black leather jacket, surrounded by uniformed officials – their faces pixelated – inspecting a munitions factory that produces “a major weapons system.”

Earlier this month, North Korea hinted that it might resume long-range and nuclear weapons tests, which have been suspended since 2017.

The saber rattling of the North occurs in a delicate moment in the region, as the Kim regime’s only major ally, China, hosts the Winter Olympics next month and South Korea prepares for presidential elections in March.

Domestically, North Korea is preparing to celebrate the 80th birth anniversary of late leader Kim Jong Il in February, as well as founder Kim Il Sung’s 110th birthday in April.

Faced with reports of rising food prices and worsening hunger, an economically reeling Pyongyang has recently resumed cross-border trade with neighboring China. Y its ally Beijing, along with Russia, this month prevented the UN Security Council from imposing new sanctions in response to recent military tests.