North Korea has launched a

new ballistic missile

.

This was reported by the Seoul military, as reported by the South Korean news agency Yonhap, and after the first suspicions reported by the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

The Tokyo Department of Diplomacy, in fact, had initially communicated that, apparently, Pyongyang had launched a new ballistic missile towards the Sea of ​​Japan.

The missile, according to public television NHK, which cited various government officials, would have fallen outside the Japanese Exclusive Economic Zone.

The crisis committee then met at the Kantei, the seat of the Japanese prime minister.

At a later stage, confirmation came from the South Korean military. In particular, the launch was confirmed by the South Korean Joint Staff, which spoke of an unspecified ballistic missile. 

This is the

seventh launch in two weeks

, about

the 25th since the beginning of the year

.

The operation takes place on the day the United States and South Korea concluded maritime maneuvers with the presence of the great American nuclear aircraft carrier "Ronald Reagan". 

North Korean forces today called the missile launches a "legitimate reaction" to American provocations.

Intelligence from the United States, South Korea and Japan speculate that Pyongyang is also preparing an imminent nuclear test, the seventh in its history.