North Korea has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile from the capital area of Pyongyang towards the East Sea, officials of the South Korean military have confirmed.
“North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile into the East Sea,” said South Korea’s Joint Chief of Staff.
The news was also confirmed by Japan’s Defense Ministry, which said that the missile was airborne for more than 70 minutes and landed in waters near Japan. Japan’s Coast Guard said that the missile, which launched at 9:59 A.M., likely landed about 550 kilometres east of the Korean peninsula at around 11:15 A.M. local time.
The missile flew for 74 minutes, reaching an altitude of 6,000 km and a range of 1,000 km – the longest flight time recorder for a North Korean missile, said Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matusno.
“North Korea’s launch seems to be its second test of the Hwasong-18 ICBM which was first fired on April 13. North Korea seems to be continuously advancing the missile technology based on the first test launch result,” Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told American news outlet CNN.
The latest missile launching by North Korea comes after the country’s leaders criticised the US for what it perceived at intrusions of its airspace by US spy planes.
“The strategic reconnaissance plane of the U.S. Air Force illegally intruded into the economic water zone of the DPRK side in the East Sea of Korea eight times in the sky above the sea of 435 km east of Thongchon of Kangwon Province~276 km southeast of Uljin of North Kyongsang Province from 5:15 to 13:10 on July 10, to commit an aerial espionage act,” Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said in a press conference.
“A shocking incident would occur in the long run in the 20-40 kilometre section in which the US spy planes habitually intrude into the sky above the economic water zone,” Kim warned.
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