North Korea has launched a ballistic missile over northern Japan, the second such launch in less than a month, triggering missile alert systems.
The missile travelled about 3,700km and reached an altitude of 770km, passing above the Japanese island of Hokkaido, before splashing into the Pacific Ocean.
“The unidentified ballistic missile was launched from the district of Sunan in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, home to the country’s main airport,” CNN reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
“The US Pacific territory of Guam, which North Korea claims to have plans to fire missiles towards, is 3,400km from Pyongyang, so would be within range of the latest missile,” the BBC says.
South Korean leaders “immediately convened a National Security Council meeting, as the country’s troops conducted a ballistic missile training in the East Sea in response to the North's latest provocation”, Yonhap News says.
Speaking to reporters, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the launch was “totally unacceptable” and went against “the international community's strong, united will for a peaceful solution.”
“The United States secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, has called on China and Russia to take ‘direct actions of their own’ against North Korea,” The Guardian says.
The launch comes just days after the United Nations imposed its toughest sanctions yet against North Korea, following Pyongyang’s sixth and largest nuclear test.
