North Korea launches a ballistic missile into the sea as South Korea and the US increase deterrence

South Korea reported that North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile into the sea on Sunday, possibly defying Washington and Seoul's latest nuclear deterrence measures.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was fired near Pyongyang at 10:38 p.m. and flew 570 kilometers (354 miles) before landing in the sea.

The South Korean military said it was sharing launch information with the US and Japan to analyze it and prepare for North Korean military activity. It called the launch a “clear violation” of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning North Korean ballistics.

Kim denounces the US, South Korea, and Japan's military exercises as invasion rehearsals, but they have increased their trilateral participation in the region.

After high-level security talks in Washington over the weekend, American and South Korean officials agreed to update their nuclear deterrence and contingency strategies and include nuclear operation scenarios in their combined military exercises next summer to combat the North's evolving threats.

After the launch, North Korea's Defense Ministry condemned Washington and Seoul's inclusion of nuclear operation scenarios in their joint drills as an open threat to use nuclear weapons against the North and pledged to prepare unspecified “offensive countermeasures.”

The North Korean ministry also criticized the US for sending strategic bombers and nuclear-powered submarines to South Korea as a show of strength, calling it a “reckless military threat” that was destabilizing the region.

North Korea launched its first military reconnaissance satellite last month, which Kim said was essential for monitoring U.S. and South Korean military activities and boosting his nuclear missile threat.