In North Korea

South Korea was set to launch its first commercial-grade satellite Wednesday as rival North Korea pushed plans forward to place its first military spy satellite into orbit.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un examined a finished military spy satellite, which his country is expected to launch soon, during a visit to an aerospace facility where he described space-based reconnaissance as crucial for countering the U.S. and South Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country has built its first-ever military spy satellite and that he planned to launch it on an undisclosed date, state media reported Wednesday.

The US, South Korea and Japan have begun joint trilateral missile defense exercises in the Sea of Japan. Three destroyer squadrons from the three countries will participate in the maneuvers, the Seoul Navy said, quoted by South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

Floods caused by torrential rains hit two provinces that were devastated by last month's earthquake, killing at least five people and increasing the misery for thousands who were left homeless, officials said Wednesday. A number of other people were reported missing.

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles Tuesday, Seoul said, Pyongyang's second launch in three days and the first since South Korea and the United States began their largest joint military drills in five years.

US President Joe Biden has said that the US is not discussing joint nuclear exercises with South Korea. His statement contradicted a statement by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, made at a time of rising tensions with North Korea, Reuters reported, citing BTA.

North Korea fired two cruise missiles Wednesday, Seoul's defence ministry said, ending a month-long lull in Pyongyang's record-breaking spate of weapons tests this year.

"Early this morning, we detected that North Korea fired two cruise missiles into the West Sea from Onchon, South Pyongan province," a ministry official told AFP.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Tuesday warned of a forceful response if North Korea carries out its first nuclear test explosion in nearly five years as she traveled to Seoul to meet with South Korean and Japanese allies and discuss the escalating standoff.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries launched eight ballistic missiles into the sea Monday in a show of force matching a North Korean missile display a day earlier that extended a provocative streak in weapons demonstrations.