South Korea said that North Korea conducted a short-range ballistic missile test on Tuesday morning, with analysts saying it was possibly a submarine-launched weapon.
The “unidentified ballistic missile” was fired from Sinpo into the sea east of the peninsula, Yonhap news agency quoted Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying in a statement.
“South Korean and US intelligence are closely analyzing for additional detail,” it added.
Sinpo, where the missile was fired from, is a major naval shipyard and satellite photographs have previously shown submarines at the facility.
According to Yonhap, the missile flew 430-450 kilometres (267-279 miles), reaching an altitude of 60 kilometres (37 miles).
The report said representatives from the National Security Council of South Korea expressed “extreme disappointment with North Korea continuing to carry out missile launches, while the world’s leading powers are holding consultations to stabilize the situation and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula.”
The council called on Pyongyang to return to dialogue as soon as possible in order to create peace on the peninsula.
Following the missile launch, US and Japanese officials held a phone meeting, reports suggest.
Source: Agencies
