North Korea fires suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile

SEOUL: North Korea fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile into the sea on Tuesday in a possible test of a new rocket using solid fuel, drawing swift condemnation from South Korea, Japan and the United States.

South Korea’s military said it detected what appeared to be an intermediate-range ballistic missile launched from an area of the North Korean capital Pyongyang on Tuesday at 6:53 am (2153 GMT on Monday) before plunginginto the sea off the east coast.

It flew about 600-km before falling into sea, South Korea said, while Japan’s defence ministry estimated it covered a distance of 650-km and reached a maximum altitude of 100-km.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff did not specify the exact type of missile or what type of warhead it may have carried, but North Korea has been testing a new intermediate-range hypersonic missile powered by a solid-fuel engine.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Lee Sung-jun said the launch was probably “related” to the testing of a recent solid-fuel engine.

In March, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a ground test of a solid-fuel engine for a new type of intermediate-range hypersonic missile to develop national defence capability, state media reported.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned the launch as damaging for regional and international peace and stability.

The US Indo-Pacific Command said the event did not pose an immediate danger to its troops or allies but condemned it as an unlawful and destabilizing act.