North Korea set to fire ballistic missile

NORTH Korea is preparing to launch a ballistic missile, possibly an intercontinental type, South Korean military sources have said.

Seoul’s defence ministry also measured North Korea’s latest nuclear test at 50 kilotons, Yonhap news agency reported.

The detonation on Sunday was the strongest ever from the North, which claimed the test was of a hydrogen bomb.

South Korea responded to the nuclear test with live-fire drills today off its eastern coast that were meant to simulate an attack on the North’s main nuclear test site. The leaders of South Korea and Japan have agreed to work together to build support for further sanctions against North Korea after its latest nuclear test.

Japanese broadcaster NHK said Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean president Moon Jae-in discussed the crisis by phone today, ahead of an emergency UN Security Council meeting. Mr Abe also spoke with President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

The live-fire exercise was carried out to “strongly warn” Pyongyang over its claimed test of a hydrogen bomb, Seoul’s joint chiefs of staff said adding that the drill involved F-15 fighter jets and South Korea’s landbased “Hyunmoo” ballistic missiles, and the released live weapons “accurately struck” a target in the sea off the country’s eastern coast.

The action came after Kim Jong Un’s regime on Sunday claimed “perfect success” in an underground test of what it called a hydrogen bomb. It was the North’s sixth nuclear test since 2006 and the tension is rising. US defence secretary Jim Mattis hit back, saying the US will answer any threat from the North with a “massive military response, a response both effective and overwhelming”.

Earlier, Mr Trump threatened to halt all trade with countries doing business with the North, a veiled warning to China, and faulted South Korea for its “talk of appeasement”. The tough talk from President Trump and the retired general he picked to oversee the Pentagon came as the administration searched for a response to the crisis. Mr Trump, asked by a reporter during a trip to church if he would attack the North, said: “We’ll see.”

No US military action appeared imminent, and the immediate focus appeared to be on ratcheting up economic penalties, which have had little effect so far. The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting at the request of the US, Japan, France, Britain and South Korea.

Oliver Struempfel competes during his world record attempt, carrying 27 beer mugs during the traditional Gillamoos festival at Abensberg, in Germany. He succeeded.

A live-fire drill.