AMN/ WEB DESK
North Korea has conducted its biggest missile launch since 2017. South Korea reported that the launch took place at 07:52 local time today off North Korea’s east coast. Japan, South Korea and the US have all condemned the launch, the seventh test this month.
The UN prohibits North Korea from ballistic and nuclear weapons tests and has imposed strict sanctions. The United States called on North Korea to “refrain from further destabilising acts”, in a statement issued by the US military’s Indo-Pacific Command.
But the East Asian state regularly defies the ban, and leader Kim Jong-un has vowed to bolster his country’s defences.
South Korea’s National Security Council said Sunday’s test was an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), which would be the biggest missile tested since November 2017.
Japanese and South Korean officials estimated that the missile reached an altitude of 2,000km and flew for 30 minutes to a distance of 800km. Finally, it landed in the Sea of Japan.