Missile Provocation

[Anchor Lead]

North Korea fired a ballistic missile over northern Japan that landed in the Pacific Ocean in yet another stark provocation. This comes just three days after the regime’s previous missile test. It's nearly unprecedented for a North Korean missile to cross the skies over Japan.

[Pkg]

North Korea fired a ballistic missile eastward from Sunan in Pyongyang on August 29th at 5:57 a.m. local time. The missile flew over Japan before falling into the Pacific Ocean. Back in 1998, a long-range rocket that the North said was intended for launching an artificial satellite flew over Japan. But it's the first time for a North Korean ballistic missile to fly right above the skies over Japan. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the missile flew 2,700 kilometers with its maximum altitude reaching 550 kilometers. The flying distance of 2,700 kilometers is long enough to classify the projectile as an intermediate-range ballistic missile. Military officials of South Korea and the United States are trying to find out the exact kind of the missile based on its launch angle, altitude and flying distance. The presidential office convened a National Security Council meeting at 7 a.m. Tuesday to check the nation's military readiness and discuss the situation. The latest missile launch comes just three days after Pyongyang fired three ballistic missiles from Kitdaeryong in the North's Kangwon-do Province on August 26th. The previous missiles flew 250 kilometers, while the latest missile flew over 2,700 kilometers. Observers say that Pyongyang apparently wanted to demonstrate its ability to strike Guam in the Pacific Ocean.