North Korea missile exploded in midair after launch, South Korean military says
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Japan's Defence Ministry said the missile flew to an altitude of about 100km and range of more than 200km.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SEOUL - North Korea test-fired what appeared to be a hypersonic missile off its east coast on June 26, but it exploded in midair, South Korea’s military said.
The missile was launched near the capital Pyongyang, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Japan’s Defence Ministry said the missile flew to an altitude of about 100km and range of more than 200km.
Senior officials of South Korea, the United States and Japan held a phone call and condemned the launch as a violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions and a serious threat to the peace and stability of the region and beyond.
South Korean and US air forces said they conducted joint exercises involving F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters as part of their annual Buddy Squadron training.
South Korea’s marine corps said its troops staged separate firing drills on June 26 near the maritime border with the North for the first time since Seoul scrapped an inter-Korean military pact early in June. The drills were announced earlier in June.
The US Indo-Pacific Command also issued a condemnation and called on Pyongyang to refrain from further unlawful and destabilising acts.
“While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel, or territory, or to our allies, we continue to monitor the situation,” it said in a statement.
North Korea’s last missile launch
North Korea earlier this week criticised the deployment of a US aircraft carrier to join joint drills with South Korea and Japan, and warned of “overwhelming, new demonstration of deterrence”.
The missile launch comes a day after the 74-year anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War.
Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a summit and signed a mutual defence pact.
Seoul, Washington and Tokyo criticised the two countries’ deepening military cooperation, with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol calling the pact “anachronistic”.
North Korean state media KCNA said on June 26 that a mass rally in Pyongyang was held to commemorate the anniversary, calling it a day of “struggle against US imperialism” and labelling the US the arch enemy.
Recently, North Korea has been flying hundreds of balloons carrying trash
