North Korea fired a “long-range ballistic missile” Thursday, Seoul said, as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol headed to Tokyo for a summit to boost ties in the face of Pyongyang’s growing aggression.<\/p>\n
The launch was North Korea’s third show of force since Sunday and came as South Korea and the United States staged their largest joint military drills in five years.<\/p>\n
“Our military detected one long-range ballistic missile fired from around the Sunan area in Pyongyang,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, telling AFP it was an ICBM-class missile.<\/p>\n
The missile was fired on a lofted trajectory — up instead of out, typically done to avoid overflying neighbouring countries — and flew some 1,000 kilometres (620 miles), the JCS added.<\/p>\n
At a National Security Council meeting, Yoon called for strengthened trilateral cooperation with Japan and the United States, adding that “North Korea will pay a clear price for such reckless provocations”, his office said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Japan’s cabinet office said the missile reached a maximum altitude of more than 6,000 km.<\/p>\n