The Latest on North Korea test-firing a missile Saturday (all times local) :
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – The Latest on North Korea test-firing a missile Saturday (all times local) : 10 a.m. Japan’s government spokesman says the missile launched by North Korea is believed to have traveled about 50 kilometers (30 miles) and fallen on an inland part of the country. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga (yoh-shee-hee-deh soo-gah) said the ballistic missile was fired to the northeast around 5: 30 a.m. from an area in the vicinity of Pukchang, north of Pyongyang, the capital. He spoke at a news conference following a meeting of Japan’s National Security Council. 9: 45 a.m. France’s U. N. ambassador says the U. N. Security Council is „mobilized“ and unanimous on the need to denuclearize North Korea. Francois Delattre said at the United Nations after North Korea’s apparently failed missile launch Saturday that while there were „nuances“ on policy to be worked out among council members, there is unanimity on the need for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. North Korea fired the missile hours after the Security Council held a ministerial meeting on Pyongyang’s escalating weapons program. North Korean officials boycotted the meeting, which was chaired by U. S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Delattre says the council must be „very firm“ implementing sanctions, adopting new ones if necessary and denouncing North Korea’s human rights record. ___ 8: 50 a.m. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff says a North Korean missile flew for several minutes and reached a maximum height of 71 kilometers (44 miles) before it apparently failed Saturday. The joint chiefs said in a statement on Saturday that the missile was fired 49 degrees northeast from an area near Pukchang, just north of the capital Pyongyang. It didn’t immediately provide an estimate on how far the missile flew. South Korea says it’s still analyzing what type of missile the North fired. A U. S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said the missile was likely a medium-range KN-17 ballistic missile and that it broke up a couple of minutes after launch. ___ 8: 38 a.m. President Donald Trump says North Korea „disrespected“ China with its most recent ballistic missile test. South Korea’s military said in a statement Friday afternoon that North Korea had fired the missile from an area near the capital of Pyongyang, but provided no other details. U. S. and South Korean officials say the launch apparently failed. Trump did not answer reporters‘ questions about the missile launch upon returning to the White House from a daytrip to Atlanta. But he commented on Twitter, saying, „North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!“ ___ 8: 30 a.m. Japan has protested the latest missile launch by North Korea. Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga (yoh-shee-hee-deh soo-gah) said Saturday that a ballistic missile firing would be „a clear violation of U. N. security council resolutions.“ He added that Japan „cannot accept repeated provocation by North Korea“ and had „lodged a strong protest against North Korea.“ Japan has become increasingly concerned in recent weeks about the possibility of a North Korean missile attack targeting Japan or U. S. forces stationed in Japan. ___ 8: 15 a.m. Japan’s public broadcaster NHK has aired footage of a U. S. aircraft carrier sailing off the coast of Nagasaki prefecture in southern Japan. The USS Carl Vinson is heading north toward the Korean peninsula in a show of force after satellite images suggested North Korea may be preparing to conduct a nuclear test. NHK said it shot the footage Saturday morning from a helicopter. Nagasaki is in Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands. The Vinson conducted joint training Friday with two Japanese destroyers and two Japanese F-15 fighter jets in waters further south off the Japanese island of Okinawa. ___ 7: 35 a.m. The White House says President Donald Trump has been briefed on North Korea’s most recent ballistic missile test. South Korea’s military said in a statement Friday afternoon that North Korea had fired the missile from an area around the capital of Pyongyang, but provided no other details. U. S. and South Korean officials say the launch apparently failed. Trump returned to the White House from a trip to Atlanta shortly after the news broke. He did not answer reporters‘ questions about the missile launch. Trump has threatened military action if North Korea continues its pursuit of a nuclear weapons program. He has also said he would prefer to resolve the issue through diplomacy. __ 7: 12 a.m. A U. S. official says North Korea has tested what was likely a medium-range ballistic missile. The official says the missile broke up a couple minutes after the launch and the pieces fell into the Sea of Japan. The official was citing an American assessment and says it appeared to be a medium-range KN-17 ballistic missile. The official wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity. -Lolita C. Baldor in Washington ___ 6: 23 a.m. South Korea’s foreign minister is warning that if the international community doesn’t respond to North Korea’s repeated provocations now, „we will only further feed the appetite of the trigger-happy regime in Pyongyang.“ Yun Byung-se told a ministerial meeting of the U. N. Security Council on Friday that it should take additional punitive measures before North Korea launches more ballistic missiles or conducts a new nuclear test – not afterward. He proposed „potent measures“ including halting the export and supply of crude oil to North Korea, completely cutting off its hard currency earnings by suspending all coal imports from the country, downgrading diplomatic relations, „and seriously considering whether North Korea, a serial offender, is qualified as a member of the U.
