North Korea fired a single ballistic missile into waters off the east of the Korean Peninsula on Saturday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the country’s ninth such test of the year.
“The South Korean military is maintaining a readiness posture by monitoring related movements in preparation for additional launches,” JCS said in a statement, condemning the launch as “a serious threat to the international community as well as peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.”
The missile was launched from the Sunan area near the capital Pyongyang, said the statement. It flew about 270 kilometers (about 168 miles), reaching an altitude of about 560 kilometers (348 miles), JCS said in a statement released Saturday.
The United States and South Korean intelligence are now analyzing further details of the missile, the statement said.
In an emergency meeting following the launch, South Korea’s National Security Council urged North Korea not to escalate international tensions during “a very serious period,” citing the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Beijing Winter Paralympics and the upcoming presidential election in South Korea. -CNN