North Korea on Monday fired a ballistic missile that flew 1,100 kilometers (685 miles) before landing in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, South Korea’s military said, extending its heightened weapons testing activities into 2025 weeks before Donald Trump returns as U.

North Korea has fired a ballistic missile into the sea at the same time the top United States diplomat was holding meetings in the South Korean capital, Seoul. South Korea’s military said the missile was launched eastward at about noon (03:00 GMT) shortly after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with South Korean Acting President Choi Sang-mok.

North Korea test fires a ballistic missile as Blinken visits Seoul, where he warned that Putin could provide Kim Jong Un with advanced space technology.

Although the precise details of the arrangement have not been made public, there has been considerable media coverage of North Korea’s dispatch of combat troops to Russia to support Vladimir Putin’s offensive in Ukraine.

South Korea's military said on Monday it has detected signs of North Korea preparing to send more troops and weapons, including suicide drones, to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.

SEOUL - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a North Korean missile test carried out during his visit to Seoul on Monday was a reminder of the need to deepen Washington's cooperation with South Korea and Japan to deter an emboldened Pyongyang.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Friday that flu cases are rising sharply in South Korea, marking the biggest flu outbreak in that nation since 2016.

The launch event came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Seoul for talks with South Korean allies over the North Korean nuclear threat and other issues.

Tensions ran high near the residence of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol Thursday, as rival protesters clashed and hundreds of supporters formed a blockade to prevent his imminent arrest.

Despite their elite status, North Korea's "Storm" troops were ill-prepared for the war, South Korea's National Intelligence Service said.