North Korea fires ballistic missile

Reuters -- North Korea fired a ballistic missile that landed close to Japan on Wednesday, the first test by Pyongyang since a missile fired over its neighbour in mid-September, officials said.

North Korea launched the missile a week after President Donald Trump put North Korea back on a US list of countries that Washington says support terrorism. The designation allows the United States to impose more sanctions, although some experts said it risked inflaming tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Japan’s government estimated that the missile flew for about 50 minutes and landed in the sea in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, Japanese broadcaster NHK said. An August 29 missile fired by North Korea that flew over Japan was airborne for 14 minutes.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday’s missile was fired from Pyongsong, a city in South Pyongan Province, at around 6.17pm GMT (10.17pm UAE) over the sea between South Korea and Japan.

Minutes after the North fired the missile, South Korea’s military conducted a missile-firing test in response, the South Korean military added.