North Korea launches another missile: South Korea
South Korea’s defence ministry says unidentified projectile was fired from an area just north of Pyongyang.
North Korea has fired an unidentified projectile, South Korea’s military said, a week after its latest missile launch.
South Korea’s Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the projectile took off on Sunday afternoon from a location near Pukchang.
The missile flew about 500 kilometres and was believed to have landed in waters off its east coast, South Korea’s military said.
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The Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff said South Korea and the United States were conducting close-up analysis of the launch.
“Our military is closely monitoring the North Korean military for any further provocation and maintaining readiness to respond,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
Last week Pyongyang launched an intermediate-range missile named the Hwasong-12, its longest-range missile yet, according to analysts.
READ MORE: North Korea’s nuclear weapons – all we know
It was its 10th launch this year, after dozens in 2016, as it accelerates efforts to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the continental United States – something US President Donald Trump has vowed “won’t happen”.
Pyongyang has long had missiles that can reach targets across the South and Japan.
Such tests present a difficult challenge to new South Korean President Moon Jae-in, a liberal who took office on May 10 and has expressed a desire to reach out to North Korea.
North Korea’s latest launch came hours after Moon named his new foreign minister nominee and top advisers for security and foreign policy.
