Seoul, July 12 (EFE).- North Korea fired a suspected long-range ballistic missile (LRBM) on Wednesday, the South Korean military reported.
Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the launch from around Pyongyang area at about 10 am (01:00 GMT).
Japan’s Ministry of Defense also reported the launch of a ballistic missile and said it was collecting details to assess whether it presents any risk to its territory.
It was expected to crash into the Sea of Japan at around 11.13 am local time outside Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), about 550 kilometers east of the Korean Peninsula, according to the ministry.
Pyongyang’s last launch of an intercontinental missile was on Apr. 13, when it fired a Hwasong-18.
The new weapons test comes after a rise in tensions on the peninsula in recent days, following what Pyongyang said were air intrusions carried out by United States reconnaissance planes inside North Korea’s EEZ, which triggered strong protests and threats from the North Korean Ministry of National Defense and Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong-un.
In addition, the launch coincides with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s Wednesday participation in the NATO summit being held in Vilnius, and after he agreed on a new cooperation framework in 11 specific areas such as cybersecurity and hybrid technologies with the alliance on Tuesday. EFE
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