North Korea fires what appears to be ballistic missile into Sea of Japan
DW—The projectile is believed to have traveled around 450 kilometres (280 miles).The US Pacific Command said the short-range Scud-class missile was tracked for six minutes until it landed in the Sea of Japan.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the launch came from the North’s coastal town of Wonsan, some 200 kilometres east of the capital Pyongyang,at around 5:39 am local time (2040 UTC on Sunday).
While Japan strongly condemned the launch, warning that the missile posed a major risk to airplanes and ships in the area, a government spokesperson said it had received no reports of damage.
Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe vowed to take “concrete action” with the US against North Korea.“We will never tolerate North Korea’s continued provocations that ignore repeated warnings by the international community,” he told reporters on Monday.
Meanwhile, chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters in televised remarks that “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 added that “Japan absolutely cannot tolerate North Korea’s repeated provocative actions.“Group of Seven (G7) leaders to adopt common language on North Korea following its latest series of ballistic missile tests.A declaration published by the G7 leaders said that the reclusive state posed an increasing threat of a “grave nature” to international peace and stability, while all states pledged to strengthen measures unless the North agreed to abandon its nuclear programme.
“As agreed during the G7 summit, the North Korean problem is the international community’s top priority,” Abe said, following reports of North Korea’s latest test-launch.“In order to deter North Korea, we will take concrete action with the United States.”
Seoul analysing projectile
South Korea’sYonhap news agency reported, without citing a source, that the projectile was believed to be a ballistic missile, although Seoul said it was still analysing what exactly had been launched.
If proven to be a ballistic missile, Monday’s launch would be the third test carried out by North Korea in the past three weeks, as the reclusive state seeks to ramp up its weapons programme and develop nucleartipped missiles capable of reaching the US mainland.
South Korea’s recently elected president, Moon Jae-in, called a meeting of the National Security Council immediately following the launch.
White House officials have confirmed that US president Donald Trump had been briefed on Pyongyang’s latest test-launch. US Pacific Command, meanwhile, confirmed that it had tracked the projectile and assessed that it did not pose a threat to North America.
Trump has sought tougher sanctions against the North, having warned last month that a “major, major conflict” with the isolated state was possible.
However, both the US and North Korea have recently made comments suggesting that a meeting between the two sides could still be possible in the “right” circumstances.
Moon had signaled a more flexible approach to dealing with Kim Jong Un’s regime in the North, having restarted stalled civilian aid and exchange programmes. However, analysts don’t believe that the new president will push for a major rapprochement, saying Pyongyang has gone too far with its nuclear ambitions.
Aside from the commonplace ballistic missile tests, North Korea conducted two nuclear tests last year, in January and September.
While it is widely believed that the North is able to arm its shorterrange missile with nuclear warheads, the precise extent of its weapons programme remains unknown.