North Korea fires missile, minister to visit Russia as tensions rise

FILE PHOTO: North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un attends a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Сosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, September 13, 2023. Sputnik/Vladimir Smirnov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea fired an apparent intermediate-range missile into the sea on Sunday, South Korea and Japan said, as tensions run high after Pyongyang's recent launches of an intercontinental ballistic missile and its first military spy satellite.

North Korea has stepped up pressure on Seoul in recent weeks, declaring it the "principal enemy", saying the North will never reunite with the South and vowing to enhance its ability to deliver a nuclear strike on the U.S. and America's allies in the Pacific.