North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile Ahead Of South Korea-Japan Summit
Japanese Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada said the launched missile took an hour-long flight and likely landed in the waters outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone
North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday to exhibit military prowess ahead of the meeting between leaders of South Korea and Japan at a Tokyo summit. The launch of the ballistic missile is the first ICBM test conducted in a month and the third weapons testing this week, reported news agency AP.
The latest launch amid joint military exercises between South Korean and US troops continues, which has been perceived by Pyongyang as a rehearsal to invade.
According to South Korea‘s military, the North Korean ICBM targeted the Korean Peninsula’s eastern waters after being launched from its capital, Pyongyang, around 7.10 am.
South Korea’s military has maintained readiness in close coordination with the United States. Japanese defence minister Yasukazu Hamada said the launched missile took an hour-long flight and likely landed in the waters outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
It is closer to the landing site, which is about 250 km off the western island of Oshimaoshima, where other North Korean ICBMs fell in recent months after test flights.
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The launch comes just ahead of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visit to Tokyo for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The meet is aimed to renew ties and solidify trilateral security cooperation with the United States to counter North Korean threats.
After launching a record number of missile tests last year, North Korea launched Hwasong-15 ICBM on February 18 which is designed to strike the US mainland. At the time of the ICBM launch, North Korea said the test was meant to further bolster its “fatal” nuclear attack capacity against its rivals.
The North’s ongoing aggressive run of weapons tests has been widely expected; leader Kim Jong Un last week ordered his military to be ready to repel what he called “frantic war preparations moves” by his country’s rivals, referring to large ongoing drills between the U.S. and South Korea.
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