North Korea fires missile in weapon test

In its latest effort to develop its ballistic and nuclear weapons, North Korea fired a mediumrange missile Sunday that appeared to be similar to one the country tested earlier this year, U.S. and South Korean officials said.

The rocket was fired from an area near the North Korean county of Pukchang, in South Phyongan Province, and flew eastward about 310 miles, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The U.S. Pacific Command said it tracked the missile before it fell into the sea.

White House officials traveling in Saudi Arabia with President Donald Trump said the system that was tested had a shorter range than the missiles fired in North Korea’s most recent tests.

The missile appeared to be similar in range and maximum altitude to the missile that North Korea test-fired in February, an official from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

The missile launched on Sunday reached an altitude of 347 miles, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing office rules.

The February test involved using a launch truck to fire a solidfuel missile that North Korea calls the Pukguksong (Polaris)-2, a land-based version of a submarine-launched missile the country revealed earlier. That missile traveled about 500 kilometers before crashing into the sea, according to South Korean and U.S. officials.