One more warning shot is fired by North Korea.

The North Korean military fired another ballistic missile into the sea towards Japan on Thursday, the third launch in five days. The missile was fired from the west coast of DPRK on Thursday morning, and was expected to splash into the sea about 550 kilometers off the east coast, well outside the exclusive economic zone claimed by Japan. The South Korean military did not offer any details about the launch, and Pyongyang has yet to issue an official comment. The North Korean state news agency KCNA said that Tuesday's launch featured two tactical ballistic missiles, which were fired from the South Hwanghae Province and struck the targets on an island in North Hamgyong Province, located 611.4 kilometers away. Sunday's test involved the launch of two "strategic cruise missiles" from a submarine in Kyongpho Bay, which "precisely" struck their target in the East Sea – known in English as Sea of Japan – covering a distance of 1,500 kilometers.

The joint exercise is the largest of its kind in five years, and is scheduled to run through March 23. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol prepared to travel to Japan for a meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, where they were expected to discuss a security partnership with Washington. The would-be alliance has to overcome some historical traumas, as neither half of Korea has quite forgiven or forgotten decades of Japanese rule. The current partition is partly a result of Japan's surrender to the Allies in 1945, and the Japanese government that emerged from the US occupation also adopted a policy of keeping only a limited self-defense force.