Pyongyang Launches 450 Km Ballistic Missile That Landed in Sea of Japan

Local Editor

North Korea launched a 450 kilometers range ballistic missile which landed in the Sea of Japan, about 300 km off the Japanese islands.

Tokyo and Seoul strongly condemned Pyongyang's move, the latest in a series of recent missile tests.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Pyongyang launched at least one projectile in the eastern direction from Wonsan, Gangwon Province at dawn.

"It is estimated to be a Scud type [missile]," the JCS said, adding, that the projectile flew about 450 kilometers. "The president was immediately notified of the situation, and the president ordered the NSC Standing Committee at 7:30 am."

"So far, the assessment is there was at least one missile but we are analyzing the number of missiles," JCS spokesman Roh Jae-cheon said, adding, the missile reached an altitude of 120 km.

Relatively, a White House official reported that US President Donald Trump has also been briefed about the launch. The missile was tracked by the US military for six minutes, Pacific Command said, confirming that the projectile landed in the Sea of Japan.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said the North Korean launches pose risk to air traffic in the area as well as to vessels navigating the Sea of Japan, Reuters reported.

"This ballistic missile launch by North Korea is highly problematic from the perspective of the safety of shipping and air traffic and is a clear violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions," Suga told reporters in televised remarks.

Suga announced that North Korea launched one ballistic missile around 5:40 am from the east coast, and that the projectile seemed to have fallen in the Sea of Japan within the Japanese exclusive economic zone [EEZ]. He condemned the launch as a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

"As we agreed at the recent G7, the issue of North Korea is a top priority for the international community," Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in brief comment on the launch. "Working with the United States, we will take specific action to deter North Korea."

Pyongyang announced earlier this month that it had successfully tested the Pukguksong-2 intermediate range ballistic missile after a projectile was detected landing in international waters off Japan's east coast. The allegedly nuclear-capable missile was launched just a week after North Korea launched its Hwasong-12 rocket.

The launch comes amid extremely high tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team