North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile Tuesday from North Pyong’an Province that flew into waters east of the Korean Peninsula, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile Tuesday from North Pyong’ an Province that flew into waters east of the Korean Peninsula, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The projectile may have landed in Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends 200 nautical miles from its coastline, Takahiro Hirano, Public Affairs Officer from Japan’s Ministry of Defense told CNN.
The launch comes amid signs that US President Donald Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress in curbing North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
On Friday, Trump declared US patience with North Korea was “over” and on Sunday he spoke with the leaders of both China and Japan, two important regional actors in the ongoing standoff with Pyongyang.
‘Out of control’ ?
Trump has repeatedly urged China, North Korea’s neighbor to the north and one of the only countries in the region with diplomatic ties to Pyongyang, to bring its influence to bear on the issue. He recently tweeted that Chinese efforts on North Korea, while appreciated, had “not worked out.”
On Monday Liu Jieyi, China’s ambassador to the UN, warned of the risk of escalating tensions on the peninsula.
“Certainly we would like to see a deescalation of tension, ” he said in remarks to the press as China assumes the United Nations Security Council presidency for July.
“Certainly if tension goes up and goes up only then sooner or later it will get out of control and the consequences will be disastrous.”
This would be the eleventh missile test conducted by North Korea this year.
