South Korea says North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — 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.S. president.

The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the midrange missile was fired from an area near the North Korean capital Pyongyang and that the launch preparations were detected in advance by the U.S. and South Korean militaries. It denounced the launch as a provocation that poses a serious threat to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

The joint chiefs said the military was strengthening its surveillance and defense posture in preparation for possible additional launches.

Japan’s Defense Ministry said the missile landed outside its exclusive economic zone and that there were no reports of damage to vessels or aircraft.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed concern that the North’s accelerated pace in missile tests is advancing its capabilities. The North last year tested various nuclear-capable systems that threaten its neighbors and the United States, including a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile that achieved both the highest altitude and longest flight time of any missile the country has launched.

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

Blinken’s visit comes amid political turmoil in South Korea following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived martial law decree and subsequent impeachment by parliament last month, which experts say puts the country at a disadvantage in getting a steady footing with Trump ahead of his return to the White House.

In a news conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, Blinken condemned North Korea’s latest launch, which violates U.N. Security Council resolutions against the North. He also reiterated concerns about the growing alignment between North Korea and Russia in Moscow's war on Ukraine.

According to U.S., Ukrainian and South Korean assessments, North Korea has sent more than 10,000 troops and conventional weapons systems to support Moscow’s war campaign. There are concerns that Russia could transfer to North Korea advanced weapons technology in return, which could potentially enhance the threat posed by leader Kim Jong Un’s nuclear-armed military.

Blinken described the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea as a “two-way street,” saying Russia has been providing military equipment and training to the North and “intends to share space and satellite technology.”

Blinken and Cho both dismissed concerns about damage to the U.S.-South Korea alliance in the aftermath of the political turmoil in Seoul. Experts had warned that Yoon’s martial law decree — which lasted only hours but has rattled politics, high-level diplomacy and financial markets for weeks — exposed the fragility of South Korea’s democratic system in a divided society.

“We had serious concerns about some of the actions that President Yoon took and we communicated those directly to the government,” Blinken said. “At the same time we have tremendous confidence in the resilience of South Korea’s democracy, in the strength of its institutions and in the efforts that it’s making to work through those institutions, pursuant to the constitution and the rule of law to resolve differences and to do so peacefully.”

In a year-end political conference, Kim, the North Korean leader, vowed to implement the “toughest” anti-U.S. policy and criticized the Biden administration’s efforts to strengthen security cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo, which he described as a “nuclear military bloc for aggression.”

North Korean state media did not specify Kim’s policy plans or mention any specific comments about Trump. During his first term, Trump met Kim three times for talks on the North’s nuclear program.

Even if Trump returns to the White House, a quick resumption of diplomacy with North Korea could be unlikely. Kim’s strengthened position — built on his expanded nuclear arsenal, deepening alliance with Russia and the weakening enforcement of U.S. international sanctions — presents new challenges to resolving the nuclear standoff, experts say.

It’s unclear whether Trump would be as active as Biden in strengthening U.S. alliances in Asia.

During his first term, Trump complained about the cost of keeping 28,000 U.S. troops in South Korea to deter North Korean threats and constantly pushed for significant increases in Seoul’s defense contributions. There are also concerns in Seoul that Trump’s “America first” approach would damage South Korean interests in trade through increased tariffs and other measures.

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Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, right, attend a joint press conference following their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, right, attend a joint press conference following their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, and South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik, left, shake hands during a meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, back, and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, front, embrace each other after a joint press conference following their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, is escorted by South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, left, after a joint press conference following their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, right, shake hands after a joint press conference following their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a joint press conference following the meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, Pool)

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech at a meeting held during Dec. 23 until Dec. 27, 2024, in Pyongyang, North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans fired general manager Ran Carthon on Tuesday after two seasons on the job and a 9-25 record.

The Titans introduced Carthon as the franchise's first Black general manager in January 2023, and he helped the franchise hire a new coach in Brian Callahan a year later.

Tennessee controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk, who fired general manager Jon Robinson in December 2022, will have yet another new GM to help the franchise decide what to do with its fourth overall No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, which it secured after going 3-14 in 2024. Strunk said Chad Brinker, president of football operations, will lead the search for a new GM.

Strunk said in a statement that it was impossible to ignore that the Titans didn't improve over the last two years. She said Callahan would continue as head coach even as the Titans lost their final six games and eight of nine. The 14 losses matched the 2014 season for the most losses since the team relocated from Texas to Tennessee in 1997. It has had the No. 1 overall pick once since then, and Robinson traded it for a haul of selections for his first NFL draft in 2016.

“I am deeply disappointed in our poor win-loss record during this period, of course, but my decision also speaks to my concern about our long-term future should we stay the course,” Strunk said in her statement. “I love this team more than you can imagine. To our fans: we know this level of performance isn’t acceptable. We’re humbled by your support as we continue to work towards building the team you expect and deserve.”

She hired Carthon to work with then-coach Mike Vrabel, who was fired two days after the 2023 season ended. He helped with the search that landed on Callahan.

Carthon made Tennessee among the NFL’s biggest spenders last offseason, signing players like cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, center Lloyd Cushenberry, wide receiver Calvin Ridley and running back Tony Pollard. Ridley finished with 1,017 yards, and Pollard led the team with 1,079 yards and five touchdown runs.

The Titans also traded a pick to Kansas City for cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, who played only five games this season before becoming one of 12 players on injured reserve. He sustained a quad injury that he told reporters last week required bone marrow injections.

Cushenberry also started just eight games. Awuzie was on injured reserve for nine and benched for one game, starting just seven.

Burke Nihill, the Titans' president and CEO, explained on the team's website why Strunk fired Carthon and noted that Carthon was hired when they had a different description for the general manager job from what the franchise wants now. The Titans want a GM who partners closely with the existing head coach.

“Ran had very different circumstances over the last two years in terms of his role,” Nihill said. “At the end of the day, this is a results-oriented business. Amy's assessment is we needed to make a change.”

Carthon was promoted to executive vice president in addition to his general manager title last year. That's when the Titans promoted Brinker to president of football operations, a new position for Tennessee after being hired in February 2023 following 13 seasons with Green Bay.

Beyond the personnel issues, the Titans struggled all season with turnovers and penalties. Callahan was hired for his offensive background working with quarterbacks from Peyton Manning to Derek Carr and Joe Burrow because the Titans needed someone to develop Will Levis in his second season.

The Titans traded up to No. 33 overall to select Levis in Carthon’s first draft. The quarterback dealt with an injury to his throwing shoulder and also was benched. He started only 12 games and had 18 of the Titans’ 34 giveaways. Levis was sacked 41 times behind an offensive line with a rookie left tackle in JC Latham and a revolving door at right tackle.

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Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan speaks during a news conference at the NFL football team's training facility Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon before an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon watches the team warm up before an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)