Seoul and Tokyo: North Korea launched a ballistic missile of unspecified type today, Sunday, according to the Japanese Coast Guard and the South Korean military. According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, the missile was fired towards the sea off the eastern coast of North Korea. The launch came after warnings from officials in Seoul and Tokyo that nuclear-armed North Korea was preparing to test-fire a missile this month, including one of its longest intercontinental ballistic missiles. United Nations Security Council resolutions impose a ban on all ballistic missile activities by North Korea, but Pyongyang defends the actions as a sovereign right for self-defense.
North Korea's Ministry of Defense condemned on Sunday what it described as reckless military moves by "bullies" in the United States and South Korea, just minutes after Seoul announced the nuclear-armed North Korea's missile launch. A statement from the ministry, reported by the Korean Central News Agency, referred to the arrival of the nuclear-powered submarine USS Missouri in South Korea as the latest move that proves Washington is considering a nuclear war.
