North Korea fired a ballistic missile towards the eastern coast of the Korean peninsula on Sunday, December 18, the South Korean military said.
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North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the ocean off the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday, South Korean troops said.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that a ballistic missile fired from North Korea landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), citing unnamed government officials.
The North’s rocket launch comes just days after this country tested a solid fuel diesel engine which experts say would enable faster and more mobile ballistic missile launches because it seeks to develop recent strategic weapons and speed up its nuclear and missile programs.
The test, overseen by leader Kim Jong Un, was carried out on Thursday at North Korea’s Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, which has been used to check rocket technologies including rocket engines and space launch vehicles, the official KCNA news agency reported on Friday.
North Korea has conducted an unprecedented variety of missile tests this yr, including an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that may reach the continental United States despite international bans and sanctions.
North Korea in November ICMB test fired which Japanese officials believed had sufficient range to succeed in the mainland United States and which landed only 200 kilometers (130 mi) from Japan.
Japan on Friday presented its largest military concentration since World War II with a $320 billion plan to purchase missiles able to striking China and preparing it for a long-term conflict.