The Yonhap report also said North Korea used solid fuel and succeeded in separating first and second stages of the rocket. The missile was launched from a submerged underwater pontoon.
Advertisement
Tensions have also been escalating between South Korea and China over a decision by Seoul and Washington to deploy an advanced anti-missile defence, which the allies say is meant to counter growing threats from North Korea.
Condemned by the global community, these resulted in the implementation of harsh new sanctions by the United Nations.
The launch appeared to be North Korea’s most successful attempt so far at launching a submarine-based ballistic missile, the BBC reported.
The talks, held in Tokyo amid frictions between Beijing and its neighbors over territorial claims and regional security, renewed concerns over Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear tests.
Outside experts say the North doesn’t yet have a reliable long-range nuclear missile capable of reaching the continental US, but they acknowledge the North has been making steady progress on its weapons programs and could one day acquire such a weapon.
The missile is said to have been fired shortly before 6am local time Wednesday (about 10pm BST on Tuesday).
Strategic Command assessed that the missile flew approximately 300 miles from the coast of North Korea, indicating a moderate-to-high degree of success. It is believed the North obtained several Soviet-era Golf-class ballistic missile submarines in the mid-1990s.
South Korea responded by agreeing to deploy a sophisticated U.S. anti-missile system – a move that has seriously strained relations with North Korea’s main diplomatic ally, China.
Japan’s Cabinet was to approve details of the provision, provided to the women through a South Korean organization launched last month.
Seoul officials condemned the launch as an “armed protest” against the start of annual South Korean-U.S. military drills that North Korean calls an invasion rehearsal.
North Korea, which sees the exercise as provocative and threatened a nuclear response to the drills if the USA and South Korea, “show the slightest sign of aggression”, reported CNN.
“We have confirmed that we will urge North Korea to exercise self-restraint regarding its provocative action, and to observe the U.N. Security Council’s resolutions”, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told a news conference after hosting the meeting with his Chinese and South Korean counterparts.
Advertisement
In a letter to the council president, North Korea’s UN Ambassador Jan Song Nam accused the United States of “creating the danger of war” with the drills, which began Monday.
