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<\/p>\nNorth Korea has confirmed that it “successfully” fired a ballistic missile on Sunday in a test supervised by leader Kim Jong-un.<\/p>\n
The device was described as a “surface-to-surface medium-to-long-range ballistic missile”, the Korean state news agency KCNA reported.<\/p>\n
South Korea’s defence ministry called it an armed provocation to test the response of US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
North Korea’s latest ballistic missile test has been widely condemned.<\/p>\n
The US, Japan and South Korea have requested an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the incident.<\/p>\n
KCNA reported that the test of the Pukguksong-2 missile, a new type of strategic weapon said to be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, was overseen by leader Kim Jong-un.<\/p>\n
It added that the missile was fired at a high angle in consideration of neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n
The rocket used a solid-fuel engine, the report said, which gives ballistic rockets greater power and range.<\/p>\n
South Korea military experts said the rocket had been launched by a “cold-eject” system, which uses compressed gas for its initial thrust, a system employed for submarine-launched missiles.<\/p>\n
The report also said that Kim Jong-un “expressed great satisfaction” over the test launch, which it said “adds to the tremendous might of the country”.<\/p>\n
South Korea and US officials said the missile flew east towards the Sea of Japan for about 500km (300 miles).<\/p>\n
The missile reached an altitude of about 550km (350 miles), the South Korean military said.<\/p>\n
Experts suggest the tests are programmed for shorter distances to avoid a missile landing on Japan.<\/p>\n
This was the latest in a series of tests in the past year, including North Korea’s fifth of a nuclear device.<\/p>\n
The launch took place at 07:55 local time (22:55 GMT Saturday) from the Panghyon air base in North Pyongan province on the west side of the Korean peninsula.<\/p>\n
United Nations resolutions forbid North Korea from carrying out ballistic missile tests – part of wider efforts to prevent it becoming a fully nuclear-armed power.<\/p>\n
South Korea’s foreign ministry said that “North Korea’s repeated provocations show the Kim Jong-un regime’s nature of irrationality, maniacally obsessed in its nuclear and missile development”.<\/p>\n
Nato also condemned the missile test, with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urging North Korea “not to raise tensions further and to re-engage in a credible and meaningful dialogue with the international community”.<\/p>\n
The European Union joined the criticism, declaring in a statement that North Korea’s “repeated disregard of its international obligations is provocative and unacceptable”.<\/p>\n
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, standing next to Mr Trump on a visit to the United States, said the test was “absolutely intolerable”.<\/p>\n
As for the US, Mr Trump said on Saturday: “America stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100%.”<\/p>\n
China, North Korea’s closest ally, has yet to comment. Beijing has joined in international efforts to press Kim Jong-un to rein in his nuclear ambitions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In January, Kim Jong-un warned that his military was close to testing long-range missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads to the United States mainland, but experts doubt the technology has progressed that far.<\/p>\n
At the time, Mr Trump derided the claim in a tweet, saying: “It won’t happen.”<\/p>\n
On a visit to South Korea last week, US Defence Secretary James Mattis said that any use of nuclear weapons by North Korea would be met with an “effective and overwhelming” response.<\/p>\n
He also reconfirmed plans to deploy a US missile defence system in South Korea later this year.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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