North Korea test fires missile into the Sea of Japan
North Korea test-fired a missile into the Sea of Japan on Sunday, according to South Korean military officials.
Yonhap News Agency first reported the suspected missile test. Military officials said the missile was fired at 7:55 a.m. local time Sunday. They have not identified what type of missile was launched or whether the test was considered a success.
North Korea conducted multiple midrange missile tests last year, most recently on Oct. 15 and 20. The missile launched Sunday originated from Banghyon air base in North Pyongyang province, the BBC reported. It is the same location from which North Korea launched the midrange Musudan missiles in October.
North Korea also carried out two tests of a nuclear weapon last year, though they have not shown the capability of shrinking a nuclear weapon to a small enough size needed to deliver it using a missile system.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un promised in his New Year’s address the communist dictatorship was close to launching an intercontinental ballistic missile, though experts expressed skepticism the North had mastered the technology for a long-range weapons system after high profile failures of its midrange missiles last year.
