pressure and threats of more sanctions.
The missile
was believed to be a Scud-class ballistic missile and flew about 450 km (280
miles), South Korean officials said. North Korea has a large stockpile of the short-range
missiles, originally developed by the Soviet Union.
Monday's
launch followed two successful tests of medium- to long-range missiles in as
many weeks by Pyongyang, which has been conducting such tests at an
unprecedented pace in an effort to develop an intercontinental ballistic
missile (ICBM) capable of hitting the mainland United States.
The North
was likely showing its determination to push ahead with missile development in
the face of international pressure to rein it in and "to pressure the
(South Korean) government to change its policy on the North", South
Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Roh Jae-cheon said.
It was the
third ballistic missile test-launch since South Korea's liberal President Moon
Jae-in took office on May 10 pledging to engage the reclusive state in
dialogue. Moon says sanctions alone have failed to resolve the growing threat
from the North's advancing nuclear and missile program.
The missile
reached an altitude of 120 km (75 miles), Roh said. "So far, the
assessment is there was at least one missile but we are analyzing the number of
missiles," he said.
North Korea,
which has conducted dozens of missile tests and tested two nuclear bombs since
the start of 2016 in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions, says the
program is necessary to counter U.S. aggression.
The White
House said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the launch. The U.S.
Pacific Command said it tracked what appeared to be a short-range ballistic
missile for six minutes and assessed it did not pose a threat to North America.
The United
States has said it was looking at discussing with China a new U.N. Security
Council resolution and that Beijing, Pyongyang's main diplomatic ally and
neighbor, realizes time was limited to rein in the North's weapons program
through negotiations.
U.S. Defense
Secretary Jim Mattis, asked what a military conflict with North Korea might
look like if diplomacy failed, warned on Sunday that would be "probably
the worst kind of fighting in most people's lifetimes".
"The
North Korean regime has hundreds of artillery cannons and rocket launchers
within range of one of the most densely populated cities on Earth, which is the
capital of South Korea," Mattis told CBS news program "Face the
Nation".
"And in
the event of war, they would bring danger to China and to Russia as well,"
he said.
TESTING NEW
CAPABILITIES
Japan lodged
a protest against the North's latest missile launch, which appeared to have
landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone.
Japanese
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed action along with other nations to deter
Pyongyang's repeated provocations.
"As we
agreed at the recent G7, the issue of North Korea is a top priority for the
international community," Abe told reporters in brief televised remarks.
"Working with the United States, we will take specific action to deter
North Korea."
Seoul's new
liberal administration has said Pyongyang's repeated test launches were dashing
hopes for peace on the Korean peninsula.
South
Korea's Moon swiftly called a meeting of the National Security Council, South
Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
North Korea
last test-fired a ballistic missile on May 21 off its east coast and said on
Sunday it had tested a new anti-aircraft weapon supervised by leader Kim Jong
Un.
It has
tested Scud-type short-range missiles many times in the past, most recently in
April, according to U.S. officials. However, experts say it may be trying to
test new capabilities that may be fed into its efforts to build an ICBM.
"There
are many possibilities ... It could have been a test for a different type of
engine. Or to verify the credibility of the main engine for ICBM's first stage
rocket," said Kim Dong-yub, a military expert at Kyungnam University's Far
Eastern Studies department in Seoul.
Modified
versions of the Scud have a range of up to 1,000 km (620 miles).
On Tuesday,
the United States will test an existing missile defense system to try to
intercept an ICBM, the first such test, officials said last week.
For graphic
on nuclear North korea, click: tmsnrt.rs/2n0gd92
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