N Korea fires unidentified projectile: S Korea

SEOUL - Reuters

North Korea fired an unidentified projectile on May 21, South Korea’s military said, a week after it test-fired a mid-long range missile which experts said marked an advancement in the reclusive state’s missile program.

South Korea’s Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the projectile took off yesterday afternoon from a location near Pukchang, an area where Pyongyang attempted to test-launch another missile last month but failed.

The missile resembled North Korea’s Pukguksong-2 type, an upgraded, extended-range version of its liquid-fuel submarine-launched ballistic missile, an official said by telephone.

South Korea’s foreign ministry condemned the launch saying in a separate statement that the missile launch was “reckless and irresponsible,” dashing the new South Korean government’s hopes for peace.

North Korea has defied all calls to rein in its nuclear and missile programs, even from China, its lone major ally, calling them legitimate self-defense.

It has been working to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of striking the U.S. mainland. 

“Today the U.S. mainland and the Pacific operational are within the strike range of the DPRK and the DPRK has all kinds of powerful means for annihilating retaliatory strike,” N. Korea’s KCNA news agency said on May 20.