South Korea’s military said an “unidentified projectile” was launched from the north on Tuesday morning local time. The Japanese coast guard spoke of a “possible” ballistic missile.
If confirmed, this would be the second North Korean launch in the span of six days. Pyongyang said last Wednesday it had test-fired a hypersonic missile that successfully impacted its intended target.
North Korea fired what may have been a ballistic missile on Tuesday morning, Japan and South Korea said, less than a week after Pyongyang tested what it said was a hypersonic weapon.
ReplyDelete“Our military detected a suspected ballistic missile fired by North Korea from land towards the East Sea at around 7.27am (22:27 GMT on Monday) today,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
The launch was also reported by Japan’s coast guard, which said the North had fired a “ballistic missile-like object”.
The projectile appeared to have landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the Kyodo news agency reported, citing government sources in Tokyo.
“That North Korea continues to launch missiles is extremely regrettable,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters.
South Korea’s national security council, which held an emergency meeting, expressed “strong regret” over the test, the presidential Blue House said
The latest launch comes after six countries, including the United States and Japan, urged nuclear-armed North Korea to end “destabilising actions” ahead of a United Nations Security Council closed-door meeting to discuss last week’s test.