SEOUL (AP) – North Korea on Saturday fired a long-range missile from its capital into the sea off Japan, according to its neighbors, a day after it threatened to take strong measures against South Korea and the U.S. over their joint military exercises.
According to the South Korean and Japanese militaries, the missile was fired on a high angle, apparently to avoid reaching the neighbors’ territories, and traveled about 900 kilometers (560 miles) at a maximum altitude of 5,700 kilometers (3,500 miles) during an hourlong flight.
The details were similar to North Korea’s Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile test flight in November, which experts said demonstrated potential to reach the U.S. mainland if fired on a normal trajectory.
Japanese government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno said no damage has been reported from the missile, which landed within Japan’s exclusive economic zone, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Oshima island. Oshima lies off the western coast of the northernmost main island of Hokkaido.
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Friday threatened with “unprecedently” strong action against its rivals, after South Korea announced a series of planned military exercises with the United States aimed at sharpening their response to the North’s growing threats.
North Korea accused both Washington and Seoul of planning more than 20 rounds of military drills this year, including one set for next week in Washington, which also includes large-scale field exercises.
Pyongyang has described its rivals as “the arch-criminals deliberately disrupting regional peace and stability.”
The upcoming exercise between Washington and Seoul scheduled for Wednesday would set up possible scenarios where North Korea uses nuclear weapons and would explore how to cope with them militarily and formulate crisis management plans, South Korea’s defense ministry has said.
Saturday’s latest long-range launch follows a record number of unprecedented amounts of missile launches last year, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of flying across the ocean just to reach American soil.