North Korea sending warplanes near South Korea following missile test

North Korea continued its military provocations against its southern counterpart on Thursday by sending 12 warplanes near the border in a move that forced Seoul to scramble its own fighters in response.

The South Korean forces mobilized 30 planes to counter the northern exercise, per Politico, in an incident that followed Pyongyang's launch of a ballistic missile over Japanese airspace and into the Pacific Ocean earlier this week.

The aerial force reportedly consisted of eight fighters and four bombers that conducted air-to-surface drills, according to the outlet.

North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un's recent string of provocative military actions comes amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, a dramatic escalation of rhetoric from Beijing about its claims on Taiwan, and a violent crackdown in Iran against protesters.

The U.S. deployed an aircraft carrier to the region following the missile launch, Politico noted. Pyongyang has launched more than 40 missiles this year, setting its own record.

Diplomatic talks between the Hermit Kingdom and the U.S. over the regime's nuclear efforts have largely broken down since the end of the Trump administration and the Biden administration has spent a great deal of time on other regions, especially Russia and Iran.

In the case of the latter, Biden has relentlessly pursued a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or the Iran Nuclear Deal, which former President Barack Obama negotiated in 2015. Experts have decried the effort as misguided while human rights advocates have lamented Washington's disregard for the ongoing protests in the country for the sake of securing a deal with Tehran.