Alwaght- North Korea fired powerful ballistic missile hours before the first meeting between US and Chinese presidents.
The missile flew about 60 km (40 miles) from its launch site at Sinpo, a port city on North Korea's east coast, the South Korean Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. Sinpo is home to a North Korean submarine base.
The launch comes just a day before a crucial meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. One of the top agendas of the summit will be pressurizing Pyongyang to drop its arms development.
Experts believe the missile was the medium-range KN-15 which was first publicly tested in February.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had said after the February launch that the missile, called "Pukguksong-2" in North Korea, provided another nuclear attack capability against the United States and South Korea.
The launch drew swift condemnation from Japan, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe saying further provocative action was possible.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga described the launch as "extremely problematic" and said Tokyo had lodged a strong protest.
South Korea's foreign ministry also condemned the launch as a blunt challenge to a series of U.N. Security Council resolutions targeting North Korea's nuclear and missile program. Seoul called a National Security Council meeting and vowed to respond strongly in case of further provocations.
Over 28,500 US troops, sailors, airmen and Marines in South Korea are a major source of tensions in the region and a pointer to Washington’s policy of provoking other countries in the region especially North Korea.
In response to US provocations, North Korea has reiterated that it is not frightened by US warnings that pre-emptive military action is on the table. The country’s foreign ministry said last month that Pyongyang is expanding nuclear program as a "treasured sword of justice." "If the businessmen-turned-US authorities thought that they would frighten [North Korea], they would soon know that their method would not work," the foreign ministry was quoted as saying by state news agency KCNA.
