North Korea fired an alleged ballistic missile on Saturday, Japanese and South Korean military officials say. province that is home to Pyongyang International Airport.
This would be the first test carried out by Kim Jong-un after a record battery of shots fired across the country in January.
“There have been frequent launches since the beginning of the year, and North Korea continues to rapidly develop ballistic missile technology,” Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said in a statement on Japanese TV.
South Korea’s National Security Council called an emergency meeting to discuss the episode, which Seoul described as “regrettable”.
“This launch comes as the international community is responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and if North Korea is making use of this situation, it is something we cannot tolerate,” Kishi said.
According to the minister, the missile fired on Sunday may have reached an altitude of up to 600 km, and traveled a distance of 300 km.
These numbers are lower, however, than the potential of the Hwasong-12 missile, the biggest weapon tested by Jong-un since 2017. Launched on January 30 by the country, the weapon reached an altitude of 2,000 km and covered 800 km of distance.