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North Korea fires 700km missile toward Japan before drills

8/12/2026

31 6 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

North Korea fired a ballistic missile off its east coast toward Japan early Wednesday.
The launch was detected at around 6 a.m. local time.
The missile traveled more than 700 km over the East Sea.
The launch came days before an 11-day U.S.–South Korea joint drill that Pyongyang denounces as an invasion rehearsal.

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Story summary

North Korea fired a ballistic missile off its east coast toward Japan early Wednesday.
The launch was detected at around 6 a.m. local time.
The missile traveled more than 700 km over the East Sea.
The launch came days before an 11-day U.S.–South Korea joint drill that Pyongyang denounces as an invasion rehearsal.