North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from a province near the border with China on Tuesday, South Korea’s military said.
“North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile into the East Sea from the vicinity of Banghyon, North Pyongan Province, at around 9:40 a.m.,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectile was fired around 9:40 a.m. and flew about 930 kilometers (578 miles). Japan’s Defense Ministry said it reached an altitude that “greatly exceeded” 2,500 kilometers. It was airborne for around 40 minutes.
The U.S. Pacific Command said in a statement it tracked a land-based intermediate range missile that landed in the Sea of Japan. But the lofted trajectory has led South Korea and the U.S. to now look at whether it was an ICBM, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a National Security Council meeting.
