North Korea launched a missile of an unknown type, South Korea’s National Defence General Staff announced today along with the Japanese authorities. 

This is the third test of such a weapon system in Pyongyang in less than ten days. The missile, after taking off, headed east towards the sea, clarified the General Staff. Pyongyang had already fired two missiles, claiming to be supersonic, on January 5 and 11.

The Japanese Coast Guard noted that it recorded the launch at 14:55 (local time; 07:55 Greece time) of one or more ballistic missiles from North Korea, as it seemed.

A spokesman for the Japanese Coast Guard told AFP that an analysis of where the rocket had landed and whether it was one or more is still ongoing. Earlier, the Japanese Coast Guard said a missile or missiles landed, without specifying whether on one of the islands in the Japanese archipelago or not.

Despite international sanctions imposed on it over its banned weapon programs for acquiring nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, and other advanced weapons, the second test, which was attended by the country’s leader Kim Jong Un, led to the imposition of new US sanctions on five people linked to the North Korean ballistic missile development program.

A spokesman for the North Korean Foreign Ministry accused the United States of looking determined to “deliberately escalate” the situation.

If Washington “adopts such confrontational behavior,” Pyongyang “will have to react more forcefully,” a spokesman for North Korean diplomacy was quoted as saying by the country’s official KCNA news agency.

Source: AMNA

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