The U.S. secretary of state aimed to show that his country stood by South Korea as it grapples with a political crisis, and as Donald J. Trump returns to power.

North Korea on Monday fired a ballistic missile that flew 1,100 kilometers (685 miles) before landing in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, South Korea’s military said, extending its weapons testing weeks before Donald Trump returns as U.

A standoff between rival government forces outside the presidential compound in South Korea is a startling development, even for observers used to the country’s famously rough and tumble politics

Blinken, who had planned to encourage South Korea to maintain Yoon’s policy of enhancing cooperation with Japan, was in talks in Seoul when North Korea fired a ballistic missile that fell into the sea. The missile flew about 1,100km, the South Korean military said.

North Korea launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile into the East Sea on Monday, South Korea's military said, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Seoul amid a political crisis in the country.

Despite their elite status, North Korea's "Storm" troops were ill-prepared for the war, South Korea's National Intelligence Service said.

The launch event came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Seoul for talks with South Korean allies over the North Korean nuclear threat and other issues.

Russia and Japan have never signed an official peace treaty to end the second world war because of a dispute over the Kuril Islands. The Soviet army seized the Kurils at the end of the war in 1945 and expelled Japanese residents from the islands, which are now home to about 20,000 Russians.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is raising concerns about the growing relationship between Russia and North Korea.

Russia developed offensive plans targeting civilian and military sites in Japan and South Korea in the event of a war with NATO, the Financial Times reported on Dec. 31, citing documents shown to the outlet by Western sources.