North Korea tests ballistic missile, Japan says

North Korea launched a suspected ballistic missile on Sunday afternoon, Japan and South Korea said.

The launch appeared to have been a shorter-range ballistic missile than those recently tested based on its flight time, Japan’s Defense Ministry said. South Korean officials said the missile was launched from the Pyongyang area into the East Sea just before 3 p.m. local time.

Japan said it believed the missile landed in the sea outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles from the country’s coast. The ministry said it was actively collating more information on the incident.

People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul on Jan. 14, 2024.

North Korea last month tested an intercontinental ballistic missile with an estimated range of about 9,300 miles, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at the time, citing the missile’s flight trajectory.

Japan and South Korea were working in close cooperation with the U.S. to analyze the launch, South Korea said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.