SEOUL (AFP) -- North Korea on Monday fired a missile as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited South Korea, where he warned Pyongyang was working ever closer with Russia on advanced space technology.
Blinken visited 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. 
In a reminder of common challenges that go beyond domestic politics, North Korea on Monday fired a ballistic missile to sea as Blinken was holding meetings in Seoul, pushing him to rebuke Pyongyang and its ally Russia.
The outgoing diplomat took aim at Russia, saying Moscow was expanding space cooperation with Pyongyang.
“The DPRK is already receiving Russian military equipment and training. Now we have reason to believe that Moscow intends to share advanced space and satellite technology with Pyongyang,” he told the news conference.
After North Korea’s missile flew around 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) before falling into the sea, Seoul said it had “strengthened surveillance and vigilance” for more launches.
The test comes two weeks before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who in his last term sought to woo North Korea with a unique personal diplomacy.
Until briefly imposing martial law on December 3, Yoon had been a darling of President Joe Biden’s administration for his pro-U.S. policies on the global stage.
Yoon delighted the United States by seeking to turn the page on decades of friction with Japan, a fellow U.S. ally that is also home to thousands of U.S. troops.
Yoon joined Biden and Japan’s then prime minister Fumio Kishida in 2023 for a landmark three-way summit at the Camp David presidential retreat that included a promise to step up intelligence cooperation on North Korea.
South Korea’s progressive opposition, which has made Yoon’s life miserable from parliament and is increasingly ascendant since the president’s power grab, historically has taken a harder line on Japan.
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung -- who himself faces election disqualification in a court case -- also favors more diplomatic outreach with North Korea than the hawkish Yoon.
The turmoil and lack of a clear leader in Asia’s fourth-largest economy comes just as the U.S. is in the midst of its own political transition.
While Biden has focused on nurturing U.S. alliances, Trump, who takes over on January 20, has been dismissive of what he sees as unfair commitments by Washington.
Trump said during his latest presidential run that if he were in power he would have strong-armed South Korea into paying $10 billion a year for the U.S. troop presence, nearly 10 times what it contributes now.