North Korea Fires Likely Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile, South Korea Says

People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul on May 7, 2022, after North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile according to South Korea's military. Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images

SEOUL/TOKYO—North Korea fired a ballistic missile from a submarine on Saturday, South Korea said, an escalation just before the inauguration of a South Korean president who has vowed to take a hard line against the North and the visit of the U.S. president.

South Korean military said North Korea fired what is believed to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) into the sea off its east coast around 05:07 GMT on Saturday from near Sinpo, where North Korea keeps submarines as well as equipment for test-firing SLBMs.