N. KOREA FIRES BALLISTIC MISSILE

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South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea fired one ballistic missile into the East Sea Tuesday morning in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. Military officials added that it seems to be an SLMB. The presidential office convened an emergency National Security Council meeting.

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​Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the unidentified projectile was fired from the port city of Sinpo in South Hamgyong Province eastward at around 10:17 a.m. The JCS said it's closely monitoring the North's moves in close cooperation with the U.S. to prepare for possible additional launches. Intelligence authorities in Seoul and Washington are analyzing the type of projectile and flight distance. Some experts say it could have been a submarine-launched ballistic missile as Sinpo is home to the regime's SLBM development facilities. The latest launch is the 8th of its kind this year alone and comes just 19 days after the last one on September 30. Last month, North Korea test-fired missiles 4 times including cruise missiles on the 11th and 12th. On September 15th when South Korea conducted an SLBM test, the North fired two short range ballistic missiles from a train. On the 28th, it test-fired a hypersonic missile and a new ground to air missile on the 30th. The North has been accelerating its weapons development since announcing a five-year plan on bolstering national defense during a ruling party congress in January. South Korea's presidential office held an emergency National Security Council meeting and discussed response measures to the latest launch. Eyes are on Pyongyang's intent behind the provocation as nuclear envoys and intelligence chiefs of South Korea, the US and Japan are gathered in Seoul and Washington to discuss ways to resume dialogue with North Korea.