Russian Attack on Ukraine Emboldened North Korea, Says South Korean Minister

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin speaks during a news conference with Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department in Washington, June 13, 2022.

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said Saturday that Russia's attack on Ukraine and the global attention on that war had emboldened North Korea, which launched a long-range ballistic missile into the sea off Japan's west coast earlier in the day.

The missile launch — North Korea's first since January 1 — clearly signaled "its intent to conduct additional provocations," Park said at a panel during a global security conference in Munich, Germany.

"Going further, if North Korea conducts the seventh nuclear test, which could happen at any time, it will be a game changer, in the sense that North Korea could develop and deploy tactical nuclear missiles," he said.