North Korea fires suspected ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan

21.08.2026 | International news

The Japanese Coast Guard reported the launch of a suspected ballistic missile by the DPRK, which has already fallen in the area of the Sea of Japan.

Снимка от Mohammad Hasan Zarifmanesh, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

North Korea has launched a suspected ballistic missile, according to a statement from the Japanese Coast Guard received by TASS.

Later, Japanese authorities clarified that the missile had already fallen. The exact location of the impact has not yet been determined, but it is assumed that the projectile landed somewhere in the waters of the Sea of Japan.

The Coast Guard urged vessels in the area to avoid any potential missile debris and to immediately notify Japanese authorities if they encounter any. To date, there are no reports of damage to vessels in the region.

Earlier, South Korean Defense Minister An Gyu-bak stated that Pyongyang possesses between 80 and 120 nuclear weapons. US leader Donald Trump, for his part, pointed to a number of only 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons.