N. Korea fires another ballistic missile

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SEOUL/WASHINGTON, July 29 (Yonhap) -- North Korea launched an improved ballistic missile with intercontinental range late Friday night, South Korea's military said, a provocation seen as Pyongyang's answer to Seoul's recent dialogue offer and the international community's move to toughen sanctions.

"North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the East Sea from the vicinity of Mupyong-ri, Jagang Province, at around 11:41 p.m yesterday," the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Saturday.

The provocation was immediately reported to President Moon Jae-in, who later convened an emergency meeting of the National Security Council, it added.

It flew more than 1,000 kilometers at the maximum altitude of around 3,700 km before landing in the waters between Korea and Japan, added the JCS.

It characterized the projectile as an "advanced type" of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), citing its range.

"South Korea and the U.S. are analyzing additional information," it added.

On July 4, the North test-fired an apparent ICBM, claiming that it has mastered all related technologies including atmospheric re-entry.

North Korea fires what it claims to be an intercontinental ballistic missile on July 4, 2017, in this file photo. [For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution] (KCNA-Yonhap)

The Pentagon also said it detected the missile launch and was carrying out assessments to determine the details.

"I can confirm that we detected a launch of a ballistic missile from North Korea," Lt. Col. Chris Logan, a Pentagon spokesman, told Yonhap. "We are assessing all the data and will have more information soon."

   In Tokyo, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga denounced North Korea for its latest missile launch, saying Japan can never tolerate its repeated provocations. He said the missile flew for about 45 minutes.

The latest launch is widely seen as a snub to the Moon administration, which has sought to engage the communist neighbor. The North has remained silent on the South's proposal for separate talks on easing border tensions and arranging reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

It also came after U.S. Congress passed a bill on imposing a set of tough sanctions on Pyongyang.

The U.N. Security Council is working on a new resolution against the North for its firing of an apparent ICBM on the U.S. Independence Day.

Experts took note of the site and timing the latest missile launch.

"It also appears to be a message for China as Jagang Province is close to China," Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korea studies at Dongguk University, said. "I think North Korea had the intention of highlighting the instability of the Armistice Agreement, as the launch came a day after the signing anniversary."

   In his Berlin speech in early June, the left-leaning South Korean president suggested the Kim Jong-un regime halt provocative acts as the first step toward inter-Korean reconciliation.

"The missile launch puts the Moon administration in a dilemma," said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies. "But there won't be any change in the two-track approach of dialogue and pressure, which is already based on the consideration of North Korea's strategic provocations."

   North Korea has been seeking to develop a nuclear-tipped ICBM capable of hitting the mainland U.S., arguing its nuclear program is aimed at countering Washington's hostile policy against it.

"We now have a North Korean state racing towards the ability to launch a nuclear strike on America. Some experts even think North Korea’s ICBM systems could range important cities like New York right now — something I believe is very possible," Harry J. Kazianis, director of defense studies from the Washington-based Center for the National Interest, said in an email.

He said the North will continue to test its missile technology and nuclear weapons in the months and years to come in order to develop the most lethal systems it can.