N.Korea Fires Missile After Threat to Shoot Down U.S. Spyplane

North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Wednesday morning, a day after threatening to shoot down U.S. spy planes it claimed had violated its airspace.

The Joint Chief of Staff here said the missile was fired at around 10:00 a.m.

The South Korean military is on alert in case the North escalates tensions with more provocations ahead of a large-scale military parade on July 27 to mark the armistice of the Korean War, which North Korea celebrates as "Victory Day."

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister Yo-jong earlier claimed U.S. spy planes violated the North's eastern exclusive economic zone three times on Monday and Tuesday and threatened "shocking" consequences.

However, the JCS said flights by U.S. reconnaissance planes and drones around the Korean Peninsula were regular surveillance activities, saying her claims were "not even worth a thought."

The JCS pointed out that the EEZ is a maritime zone where freedom of navigation and overflight is guaranteed.