South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said on 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 signalled "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 added.