North Korea fired a “long-range ballistic missile” Thursday, Seoul said, as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol headed to Tokyo for a summit to boost ties in the face of Pyongyang’s growing aggression.
The launch was North Korea’s third show of force since Sunday and came as South Korea and the United States staged their largest joint military drills in five years.
“Our military detected one long-range ballistic missile fired from around the Sunan area in Pyongyang,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, telling AFP it was an ICBM-class missile.
The missile was fired on a lofted trajectory — up instead of out, typically done to avoid overflying neighbouring countries — and flew some 1,000 kilometres (620 miles), the JCS added.
At a National Security Council meeting, Yoon called for strengthened trilateral cooperation with Japan and the United States, adding that “North Korea will pay a clear price for such reckless provocations”, his office said in a statement.
Japan’s cabinet office said the missile reached a maximum altitude of more than 6,000 km.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters he would meet ministers from the National Security Council.বিস্তারিত