Seoul: North Korea fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on a lofted trajectory toward the East Sea on Thursday, as confirmed by South Korea's military. The launch occurred just hours after the defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States issued a joint condemnation of North Korea's troop deployment to Russia. According to Yonhap News Agency, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) detected the launch at approximately 7:10 a.m. from the Pyongyang area in North Korea. The JCS communicated through a text message to reporters, stating, "North Korea's ballistic missile appears to be an ICBM fired on a lofted trajectory." They also emphasized the military's heightened readiness posture and the close sharing of ballistic information with U.S. and Japanese authorities. The timing of this launch is particularly notable, as it closely followed the annual defense talks held at the Pentagon on Wednesday, where South Korean and U.S. defense chiefs unanimously denounced North Korea's troop deploymen t to Russia. This development marks the first such ICBM launch since December 18, though North Korea did fire multiple short-range ballistic missiles on September 18.