Pyongyang test-fires another missile, drawing ire of S. Korea, US and Japan

A ballistic rocket launching drill in Pyonyang on March 7, 2017. PHOTO: REUTERS

SEOUL • North Korea fired a ballistic missile into waters off its east coast yesterday, its second missile test in a week, which South Korea said dashed the hopes of the South's new liberal government for peace between the neighbours.

The missile, described by Washington as a medium-range one, was fired from Pukchang in South Pyongan province and travelled about 500km, according to the South.

United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said both economic and diplomatic pressure will continue to be applied on North Korea in the wake of the missile launch. "The ongoing testing is disappointing, disturbing and we ask that they cease that," Mr Tillerson said yesterday in an interview with Fox News.

A South Korean military official said that the missile appeared to be an upgraded, extended-range version of the North's solid-fuel submarine-launched missile.

The missile fired a week ago was liquid-fuelled, and flew farther.

Mr Kim Dong Yub, a military expert at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul, said the North appeared to be testing and perfecting both solid- and liquid-fuelled missiles, which might help explain why the pace of its tests had increased.

A White House official visiting Saudi Arabia with President Donald Trump appeared to play down yesterday's firing. "We are aware that North Korea launched an MRBM (medium-range ballistic missile). This system, last tested in February, has a shorter range than the missiles launched in North Korea's three most recent tests," the official said on condition of anonymity.

But the South's Foreign Ministry slammed the "reckless and irresponsible" firing as "throwing cold water on the hope and longing of the new government and the international community" for denuclearisation and peace.

Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe said the latest test by the reclusive North was "a snub and a challenge to international efforts for a peaceful resolution". He told reporters after a meeting of Japan's National Security Council that he wanted to raise the issue of the North's missile launches at the Group of 7 leaders' summit in Italy this month. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the missile did not reach the nation's exclusive economic zone.

China had no immediate comment. North Korea has defied all calls to rein in its nuclear and missile programmes, even from China, its lone major ally, saying the weapons are needed for legitimate self-defence. It has been working to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of striking the US mainland.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BLOOMBERG

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 22, 2017, with the headline Pyongyang test-fires another missile, drawing ire of S. Korea, US and Japan. Subscribe