North Korea launched on Wednesday another missile which fell into the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea. It flew for 9 minutes that reaches 40 miles before landing on the water surface, US and South Korean officials said.
The United States authorities believe that it was a medium-range ballistic missile as it is one of the several missiles the North Korea has test-fired in recent months.
In a statement posted on the State Department’s website, US Secretary Rex Tillerson said that “North Korea launched yet another intermediate range ballistic missile. The United States has spoken enough about North Korea. We have no further comment.”
“Initial assessments indicate that the type of missile was a KN-15 medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM),” it added.
Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned the launch and said the country’s National Security Council would meet on the issue.
North Korea last month has conducted and fired five ballistic missiles and tested what it said was a high-thrust rocket engine into the sea. Defense experts said the country still hasn’t developed nuclear warheads that can be mounted onto missiles.
The primary concern of the United States is that the North Korea’s weapons program could eventually equip long-range missiles with a nuclear warhead. -JCE.
