North Korea test fires new missile

North Korea has test-launched a ballistic missile that landed in the Sea of Japan.

The launch, which Tokyo said could be of a new type of missile, is a direct challenge to the new South Korean president and comes as US, Japanese and European navies gather for joint war games in the Pacific.

It was not immediately clear what type of ballistic missile was launched, the seventh such firing this year, although the US Pacific Command said that “the flight is not consistent with an intercontinental ballistic missile”.

South Korea, Japan and the US swiftly condemned the launch, which jeopardises new South Korean leader Moon Jae-in’s willingness for dialogue with the rival North.

“The president expressed deep regret over the fact that this reckless provocation ... occurred just days after a new government was launched in South Korea,” said senior presidential secretary Yoon Young-chan.

“The president said we are leaving open the possibility of dialogue with North Korea, but we should sternly deal with a provocation to prevent North Korea from miscalculating.”