North Korea launched a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile off its east coast early on Thursday, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing its Joint Chiefs of Staff, or JCS.
The missile was fired on a “lofted trajectory,” at 7.10 a.m. (6.10 p.m. ET on Wednesday) from near the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, the JCS said. Japan said it fell into the sea about 300 kilometers (190 miles) west of its Okushiri Island an hour and 27 minutes later, the Reuters news agency reported.
“Amid a heightened readiness posture, our military maintains full readiness as we closely share North Korean ballistic information with U.S. and Japanese authorities,” Yonhap quoted the JCS as saying.
South Korea’s military warned on Wednesday that North Korea has completed preparations to test an ICBM, with a launch possibly timed to coincide with the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election.
If confirmed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, it would be North Korea’s first launch this year. Its last ICBM test was in December when it fired its latest solid-fueled ICBM, the Hwasong-18.
South Korea’s military also warned on Wednesday that the North had completed preparations to test a nuclear device, possibly around the time of the U.S. election. North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests since 2006, all of them underground at the Punggye-ri site. Its last nuclear test was in 2017.
Thursday’s missile test came hours after South Korean and U.S. defense chiefs, at their annual meeting at the Pentagon, criticized North Korea for sending thousands of troops to Russia to help it with the war in Ukraine.
Washington and Seoul have said that Pyongyang has dispatched 10,000-11,000 troops to Russia in recent days.
Edited by Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Staff.