It’s the latest in a recent series of weapons tests that experts say seems designed to advance its arsenal and apply pressure on Washington over a deepening freeze in nuclear negotiations.
Seoul, South Korea — North Korea fired at least one suspected ballistic missile toward the sea Thursday, its neighbors’ militaries said, apparently extending its that may now include a flight of an intercontinental ballistic missile. The Reuters news service cites South Korea’s Yonhap news agency as saying the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff assumed the projectile was a long-range missile, possibly an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) directed on a «lofted» trajectory. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff didn’t say how far it flew. Japan’s Prime Minister’s Office Defense Ministry said the launch possibly involved a ballistic missile while its coast guard issued a warning for vessels passing nearby waters. It was North Korea’s 12th round of weapons launches this year and came after it fired suspected artillery pieces into the sea on Sunday.
