South Korea’s military said the missile flew more than 700km (435 miles). Japan’s Defence Ministry said on social media that the suspected ballistic missile had “already fallen”, without providing further details. Its scale will be similar to previous years, with 18,000 South Korean soldiers taking part, according to South Korea’s military. On August 6, South Korea, the US and Japan detected the launch of a short-range ballistic missile from North Korea in what was Pyongyang’s first ballistic weapons testing activity since late June. North Korea has also been accused of playing a more active role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.