Seoul, November 2: South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that North Korea has fired a ballistic missile toward sea Wednesday, but gave no further details like how far it flew. South Korea Issues Air Raid Alert After North Fires Short-Range Ballistic Missiles.

The launch came hours after North Korea issued a veiled threat to use nuclear weapons to get the US and South Korea to “pay the most horrible price in history” — an escalation of its fiery rhetoric targeting the ongoing large-scale military drills between its rivals.

In a statement, Pak Jong Chon, a secretary of the ruling Workers' Party who is considered a close confidant of leader Kim Jong Un, called the ongoing military drills between South Korea and the US “aggressive and provocative.” North Korea Fires Seven More Ballistic Missiles Towards Sea, Raising Today’s Total to 10.

North Korea has argued its recent weapons tests were meant to issue a warning to Washington and Seoul over their series of joint military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal, including this week's exercises involving about 240 warplanes.

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