The Japanese government said a projectile launched by North Korea on Tuesday might have been a ballistic missile, which goes against UN resolutions on Kim Jong-un’s regime.
Kyodo News reported the Japanese Defence Ministry’s initial conclusion, after earlier reports quoting South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff that the North fired a projectile into waters off its east coast.
The launch comes after a test this month of two short-range ballistic missiles launched from a train.
That was North Korea’s first test of ballistic missiles since March, and followed what Pyongyang said was a trial of new, long-range cruise missiles a few days earlier.
North Korea, which is barred by UN resolutions from ballistic missile testing, has been building towards the ability to strike the US mainland with nuclear warheads and for tactical attacks against South Korea and Japan, which host tens of thousands of American troops.
Reports of the launch came as North Korea’s UN envoy, Kim Song, spoke to the annual UN General Assembly in New York.
"Nobody can deny the right to self-defence for the DPRK to develop, test, manufacture and possess the weapon systems equivalent to the ones which are possessed or being developed by them," Mr Kim said, referring to South Korea and the US policy towards Pyongyang.
"We are just building up our national defence in order to defend ourselves and reliably safeguard the security and peace of the country."
North Korea has already carried out several missile tests this month, one involving a long-range cruise missile and another with short-range ballistic missiles, the South's military said.
Seoul recently successfully test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile for the first time, making it one of a handful of nations with the advanced technology.
Mr Kim said annual joint military exercises between the US and South Korea, and "the deployment of all kinds of strategic weapons" towards the North, should be stopped "permanently."
The launch early on Tuesday in the Korean Peninsula came as the North was due to open a session of its rubber-stamp parliament, the Supreme People's Assembly.
-
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un celebrating the test-firing of a 'newly developed super-large multiple rocket launcher' at an undisclosed location. AFP -
A uranium enrichment plant at North Korea's main Yongbyon nuclear complex. AP -
A test missile is launched from a train in an undisclosed location of North Korea. AP -
People in Seoul, South Korea, watch a news report on North Korea firing what appears to be a pair of ballistic missiles off its east coast. Reuters -
A map detailing North Korea's missile launch towards the Sea of Japan, part of a news broadcast at Akihabara, Tokyo. AFP -
Kim Jong-un attending a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the Korean People's Army at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang. AFP -
Kim Jong-un is all smiles as he watches the military parade in the North Korean capital Pyongyang. AFP -
What appears to be submarine-launched ballistic missiles are displayed, marking the eighth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang. AFP -
Hwasong-12 ballistic at Kim Il-sung Square, Pyongyang. AFP
