North Korea has fired a ballistic missile off its east coast, South Korea’s military said on Wednesday, but no further details, such as the projectile’s flight range, were immediately available, APA reports citing Reuters.
The launch is the latest in a record year of missile testing by the North, including an ICBM test last week, at a time of growing fears that Pyongyang could be preparing for its first test of a nuclear device since 2017.
Ballistic missile has already fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, the Japanese government said, as Pyongyang continues with a flurry of weapons tests that have raised regional tensions.
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said the missile flew about 250 kilometers at a maximum altitude of around 50 km, and no damage to aircraft or ships has been reported.
Japan lodged a protest with Pyongyang via the Japanese Embassy in Beijing over the latest ballistic missile launch, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a press conference.