Japan on alert as North Korea launches ‘suspected ballistic missile’

livemint.com:

South Korea's military said, hours after a US nuclear-powered submarine arrived in a naval base in the South. The reports come amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula as South Korea and the United States take steps to boost military readiness against North Korea's weapons programme with the deployment of U.S. strategic military assets.

This comes as South Korea also said that on Monday North Korea had fired at least one ballistic missile into its eastern sea. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff did not immediately say where the weapon was launched from and how far it flew. South Korea's military said a nuclear-propelled US submarine arrived at a port on Jeju Island.

The arrival of the USS Annapolis adds to the allies' show of force to counter North Korean nuclear threats. This adds to a recent streak in weapons testing that is apparently in protest of the US sending major naval assets to South Korea in a show of force. The launch came hours after South Korea's navy said a nuclear-propelled US submarine – the USS Annapolis — arrived at a port on Jeju Island.

The arrival of the USS Annapolis adds to the allies' show of force to counter North Korean nuclear threats. The launch also comes ahead of celebrations in North Korea this week marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War. The UN Command, which was created to fight the Korean War, has remained in South Korea to supervise the implementation of the 1953 armistice that stopped the fighting in the conflict.