The early-morning launch came as the U.N. Security Council met in New York to discuss last week’s test of what was described by Pyongyang as a hypersonic missile.
“Our military detected a suspected ballistic missile fired by North Korea from land towards the East Sea at around 7:27 a.m. today,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
The launch was also reported by Japan’s coast guard, which said the North had fired a “ballistic missile-like object”.
On Monday, six countries, including the United States and Japan, urged North Korea to cease “destabilizing actions” ahead of the U.N. Security Council closed-door meeting.
France, Britain, Ireland and Albania joined the call for North Korea “to refrain from further destabilizing actions… and engage in meaningful dialogue towards our shared goal of complete denuclearization.”
North Korea has been barred from the Beijing Winter Olympics after skipping the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games over Covid-19 concerns.
In the decade since Kim Jong Un took power, North Korea has seen rapid progress in its military technology at the cost of international sanctions.
AFP
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