North Korea conducts ninth missile test for year

KOREA: North Korea fired at least one suspected ballistic missile toward the sea to the east of the Korean peninsula on Saturday, militaries in the region said, an apparent test just days before the South’s Presidential election.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and the office of Japan’s Prime Minister said the launch appeared to involve a suspected ballistic missile.

The launch would be the ninth this year. The last was on February 27 when North Korea said it tested systems for a reconnaissance satellite.

The South Korean military said Saturday’s launch came from a location near Sunan, where Pyongyang’s international airport is located. The region has been the site of previous tests, including the February 27 launch.

Kishi said the North Korean projectile reached a height of 550 km and flew a distance of 300 km. South Korea’s National Security Council will convene an emergency meeting, the Presidential Blue House said. The launch underscores the challenges facing whoever wins Wednesday’s presidential election in South Korea. With denuclearisation talks stalled, North Korea conducted a record number of missile launches in January. It appears to be preparing to launch a spy satellite in the near future, and has suggested it could resume testing of nuclear weapons or its longest range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) for the first time since 2017.

Analysts say North Korea could use the upcoming presidential transition in South Korea or a big national holiday on April 15 to test fire a major new missile or other weapon. – INDIAN EXPRESS