North Korea fires missile amid looming US-South Korea drills
North Korea launched a ballistic missile from Wonsan, traveling over 700 km before landing in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, six days after a similar test; North Korea gave no immediate comment. Analysts say the timing signals a warning ahead of the US–South Korea Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises (Aug 17–27), which involve about 18,000 South Korean troops and roughly 28,500 US personnel and are condemned by Pyongyang as invasion rehearsals. The episode reflects a pattern of missile tests around drills and Pyongyang’s expanding weapons cooperation with Russia.