 |
(Photo = Yonhap news) |
[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Minyoung] North Korea fired a medium-range ballistic missile into the East Sea on the 2nd.
South Korea, the U.S. and Japan have maintained close cooperation by strongly condemning North Korea's provocations and conducting their first air drills this year.
"We detected an aircraft believed to be a medium-range ballistic missile launched into the East Sea from Pyongyang at around 6:53 a.m. today," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. "The North Korean missile flew about 600 kilometers and landed on the East Sea."
The North's provocation came 15 days after North Korean State Councilor Kim Jong-un conducted a super-sized artillery firing drill on the 18th of last month, which puts the entire South as a strike zone.
The South Korean military estimated that the latest ballistic missile launch would be a test of a new mid- to long-range hypersonic missile using solid fuel under development by the North.
North Korea claimed on the 20th of last month that it successfully conducted a ground test of a multi-stage solid-fuel engine for a new mid- to long-range hypersonic missile.
South Korea, the U.S. and Japan's nuclear representatives held a three-way meeting to discuss ways to cooperate.
Alphabiz Kim Minyoung (kimmy@alphabiz.co.kr)
