The United States accused Russia of “cynically” protecting North Korea from sanctions. This comes after Russia blocked efforts to keep watching whether they are following UN rules. These rules, called sanctions,

North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles into the sea between Korea and Japan on Thursday morning, Seoul's military said, in what officials characterized as a possible test ahead of export to Russia.

North Korea fired what appeared to be multiple short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast, South Korea's military said on Thursday, possibly to test the performance and stability of various projectiles intended for export.