North Korea test fires missile as Blinken visits Seoul, weighs in on Putin-Kim ties, Israel-Hamas truce talks

Seoul — North Korea on Monday test fired a ballistic missile as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited South Korea, where he warned that Pyongyang was working ever closer with Russia on advanced space technology. Blinken also said that while he believed a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas would end the war in Gaza, it may not happen until after President Biden's term, under returning President-elect Donald Trump.

Blinken visited Seoul as investigators were trying to arrest conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has entrenched himself in his residence after being impeached for a failed attempt to impose martial law, but he declined to wade into the domestic political turmoil that has gripped the close U.S. ally.

In a reminder of common challenges that go beyond the South's politics, North Korea on Monday fired a ballistic missile to sea as Blinken held meetings in Seoul, pushing him to rebuke Pyongyang and its ally Russia.