North Korea fired a long-range ballistic missile into the East Sea on Wednesday, the South Korean military said.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from an area in or around Pyongyang, and the missile, fired at a lofted angle, flew around 1,000 kilometers before splashing into the water, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The North's first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch in about three months came amid tensions heightened by Pyongyang's tough rhetoric against the United States. On Monday and Tuesday, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, issued sharp-tongued statements claiming that US military spy aircraft "intruded" into the area over the North's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Kim warned that the North will take "clear and resolute" actions against US surveillance flights within the North's "economic water zone," claiming a "shocking" incident could occur.
The JCS strongly condemned the launch and urged the North to immediately stop such launches, calling the latest launch an "act of significant provocation" that not only harms peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula but also in the international community.
It said the military will maintain a "firm" readiness posture based on "overwhelming" capabilities to respond to any provocations by North Korea.
The North's last long-range missile launch took place April 13, when it fired a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBM.
Source: Qatar News Agency