N.Korea fires Scud-class ballistic missile, Japan protests

SEOUL, (Reuters) - North Korea fired what appeared to be a short-range ballistic missile yesterday that landed in the sea off its east coast, the latest in a series of missile tests defying world pressure and threats of more sanctions.

The missile was believed to be a Scudclass ballistic missile and flew about 450 km (280 miles), South Korean officials said. North Korea has a large stockpile of the short-range missiles, originally developed by the Soviet Union.

Yesterday’s launch follows two successful tests of medium to long range missiles in as many weeks by Pyongyang, which has been conducting such tests at an unprecedented pace in an effort to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of hitting the mainland United States.

It is the third test-launch since South Korea’s liberal President Moon Jae-in took office on May 10 pledging to engage the reclusive state in dialogue. Moon says sanctions alone have failed to resolve the growing threat from the North’s advancing nuclear and missile programme.

North Korea, which has conducted dozens of missile tests and tested two nuclear bombs since the start of 2016 in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions, says the programme is necessary to counter U.S. aggression.

The White House said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the launch. The U.S. Pacific Command said it tracked what appeared to be a short-range ballistic missile for six minutes and assessed it did not pose a threat to North America.