North Korea fires possible ‘new type' ballistic missile

North Korea has launched a possible “new type” of ballistic missile that landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, prompting Japan to lodge a “strong protest” after fears the weapon might land in or near its northern island of Hokkaido led to an evacuation order.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the North Korean missile was launched at a lofted angle on Thursday from a location near the capital Pyongyang at 7:23am (22:23 GMT on Wednesday).

The missile, suspected to be intermediate-range or longer, flew for about 1,000km before falling into the sea, the JCS added, describing the launch as a “grave, provocative act”.

Japan also said the missile landed in the water but did not immediately give a more precise landing location.

“The intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States are conducting a comprehensive analysis on its detailed specifications,” the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.

South Korean broadcaster YTN, citing a military official, said the test launch could have involved a new type of weapon displayed at recent military parades, and that it was not ruling out the possibility that the projectile was a solid-fuel missile. Solid fuel technology makes rockets easier to transport and faster to launch than liquid-fuelled ones.

A defence official said Tokyo had launched a “strong protest” over North Korea’s actions after it lifted an earlier evacuation order for Hokkaido residents amid concern the missile was heading in the island’s direction. Japan issued a similar evacuation order last October when North Korea fired an intermediate-range missile over the country. That weapon splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.

Following Thursday’s launch, Seoul convened an emergency meeting of its National Security Council, which also condemned the North Korean test.

In Washington, DC, the White House criticised the launch which it said was a “brazen violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions” and urged countries to condemn Pyongyang’s test activities in the strongest terms.