People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul on September 13, 2023. North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles, the South Korean military said on September 13, with leader Kim Jong Un in Russia ahead of a summit with President Vladimir Putin.
Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Images
North Korea fired what appeared to be a long-range ballistic missile on Monday, South Korea’s military said, its second missile launch in less than 12 hours as Pyongyang condemned a U.S.-led show of force against the nuclear armed state.
The missile was fired from an area near the capital Pyongyang towards the sea off the North’s east coast, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Japan’s defense ministry also said North Korea has fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile and its coast guard said it fell into the sea west of Hokkaido about an hour after launch.
The missile’s flight range and maximum altitude, were not immediately available. Japan’s NHK broadcaster said it could be a long-range missile, citing Japan’s Defense Ministry.
The international airport serving Pyongyang is where the North previously launched ICBMs and is suspected to be the location of a missile assembly facility.
Last week, South Korea’s deputy national security advisor said the North may be readying to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, this month, declining to provide any details.
Monday’s missile launch came after North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile on Sunday night, flying about 570 km (350 miles) from an area near Pyongyang and falling into the ocean.
North Korea followed up that launch with a fiery statement condemning the United States for orchestrating what it called a “preview of a nuclear war,” including the arrival of a nuclear-powered submarine in South Korea on Sunday.
On Friday, following a high-level meeting by U.S. and South Korean…
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