SEOUL — (UPDATE 2 – 12:03 p.m.) North Korea fired on Sunday a missile from a region near its west coast that flew 700 kilometers (430 miles), with the US and Japan hinting it could be a new type of projectile.
The launch took place only days after Moon Jae-in took office as South Korean president.
The missile was fired early on Sunday from a region named Kusong located northwest of Pyongyang, where the North previously test-launched an intermediate-range missile it is believed to be developing, the last time in February.
The US military’s Pacific Command said the missile’s flight was not consistent with an intercontinental ballistic missile.
“The type of missile is being assessed and the flight was not consistent with an intercontinental ballistic missile,” a US PACOM spokesperson said.
Japan’s Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said the missile reached an altitude of more than 2,000 kilometers (1,245 miles) and could be a new type of a missile.
Inada also said the missile is estimated to have fallen in the Sea of Japan about 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the east coast of North Korea.
Sunday’s launch is the first in two weeks since the last attempt to fire a missile ended in failure just minutes into flight.
Japan swiftly issued a protest. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said North Korea’s firing of a ballistic missile was a violation of UN resolutions and that Japan strongly protested the action.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe repeated the protest in comments to reporters.
“North Korea’s repeated missile launches are a grave threat to our country and a clear violation of UN resolutions,” Abe told reporters, adding Japan will stay in close touch with the United States and South Korea.
Abe also said the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea had a phone call on Sunday to discuss the firing of the missile by North Korea.
Shotaro Yachi, Abe’s top security adviser, also had a call with US national security adviser H.R. McMaster.
“We will continue to closely coordinate with the United States and South Korea to respond to the North Korea situation,” Abe told reporters.
The launch is the first since a new liberal president took office in South Korea on Wednesday saying dialogue as well as pressure must be used to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula and stop the North’s weapons pursuit.
President Moon Jae-in has called an emergency National Security Council meeting in response to the launch, the presidential Blue House said.
The North attempted but failed to test-launch ballistic missiles four consecutive times in the past two months but has conducted a variety of missile testing since the beginning of last year at an unprecedented pace.
Weapons experts and government officials believe the North has accomplished some technical progress with those tests.
US President Donald Trump warned in an interview with Reuters in late April that a “major, major conflict” with the North was possible, but he would prefer a diplomatic outcome to the dispute over its nuclear and missile programs.
