North Korean ballistic missile lands in the Sea of Japan: US

North Korea has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile which flew about 1,000 km before splashing down in the Sea of Japan, the US said on Wednesday.

This is the first such launch in two months which comes just a week after the US slapped fresh sanctions on the reclusive nation and declared it a state sponsor of terrorism.

The US Department of Defence detected and tracked a North Korean missile launch today at about 1:17 pm EDT. Initial assessment indicates that this missile was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Pentagon Spokesman Col Rob Manning said in a statement.

"The missile was launched from Sain Ni, North Korea, and travelled about 1000 km before splashing down in the Sea of Japan, within Japan's Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ)," Manning said, adding that the Pentagon is working with its interagency partners on a more detailed assessment of the launch.

He, however, said that the missile launch did not pose any threat to the US or its allies.

"The North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) determined the missile launch from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America, our territories or our allies," Manning said.
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North Korea fires 2nd missile over Japan in a month: Top 10 developments

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will meet at 3 pm EDT (1900 GMT) on Friday over the latest missile test by North Korea at the request of the United States and Japan.

North Korea on Friday launched a missile that flew over northern Japan before plunging into the Pacific Ocean, the South Korean military said. The still-unidentified missile was launched around 6.30 am (local time) from east of Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, according to South Korea's military Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The officials said that the rocket could have reached an altitude of 770 km and flew for a total of some 3,700 km. According to the Japanese government's missile alert system, the missile overflew the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido and fell into the Pacific Ocean, Efe news reported.
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