North Korea has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into Japanese territory, less than 24 hours after the country said it satellite signals of a possible launch.
US officials told Fox News that it was the first such launch from the “rogue” regime in more than two months.
The missile, believed to be an ICBM by the Pentagon based on initial assessments, was launched from Sain Ni in North Korea and flew roughly 620 miles before landing in the sea of Japan.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, which first reported the launch, said the missile launch happened around 3am local time in North Korea.
South Korea’s military had reportedly staged a “precision strike” missile exercise in response.
North Korea has been working hard to perfect “re-entry” technology to one day have a warhead be able to survive re-entry into earth’s atmosphere.
It was determined by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) that the missile “did not pose a threat to North America, our territories or our allies,” Pentagon spokesman Col. Robert Manning III told Fox News.
Manning, in an earlier statement, said: “We are in the process of assessing the situation, and we will be providing additional details when available.”
(NAN)
