North Korea fires a suspected missile toward the sea, Japan says

The suspected launch on Thursday comes a day after North Korea shrugged off a U.S. decision to scale back military drills with South Korea in an apparent bid to resume diplomacy.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7525x5016+0+0/resize/7525x5016!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9d%2Fbd%2F4c7281554a0c82aac58fcef79a0c%2Fap26232291378439.jpg' alt='U.S. Army soldiers try to dismantle a floating bridge during a training exercise on a river in Yeoncheon, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026.'/><p>The suspected launch on Thursday comes a day after North Korea shrugged off a U.S. decision to scale back military drills with South Korea in an apparent bid to resume diplomacy.</p><p>(Image credit: Ahn Young-joon)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=g-s1-139381' />