North Korea fires possible ‘new type’ ballistic missile

North Korea has launched what could be a “new type” of ballistic missile that landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, prompting Tokyo to lodge a “strong protest” after fears the weapon might land in or near its northern island of Hokkaido led to an evacuation order.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the North Korean missile was launched at a lofted angle on Thursday from a location near the capital Pyongyang at 7:23am (22:23 GMT on Wednesday).

 Japan ordered Hokkaido residents to evacuate when the launch was detected before the weapon fell into the sea.

 The Japanese government said the emergency evacuation warning it issued and later retracted against residents of the northern island of Hokkaido after a North Korean missile launch on Thursday morning was appropriate and not an error.