Japan’s coast guard said the apparent missile had fallen into the sea.
Seoul:
North Korea launched a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, South Korea’s military Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Tuesday.
The launch came less than two weeks after Pyongyang’s state media said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un successfully tested a solid-fuel engine for a “new medium-range hypersonic missile.”
Japan also said it “appeared” that North Korea had launched the missile, Kyodo News reported, adding that its coast guard believed the missile had fallen.
Tuesday’s launch was the third ballistic missile test so far this year, following a solid-fuel test by Kim in March and another with a maneuverable hypersonic warhead in January.
North Korea last year claimed it had successfully tested its first solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile – its largest and longest-range ballistic missile – and hailed it as a key breakthrough in the country’s nuclear counterattack capabilities.
Solid-fuel missiles do not require refueling before launch, making them harder to detect and destroy and faster to use.
So far this year, nuclear-armed North Korea has declared South Korea its “main enemy,” abandoned institutions dedicated to reunification and outreach and threatened war over territorial incursions of “even 0.001 mm.”
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