The South Korean army said Thursday that North Korea failed in its test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, while the United States condemned Pyongyang's launch of the missile, calling on all countries of the world to tighten sanctions against North Korea.
The South Korean military said Pyongyang fired an ICBM and two short-range missiles Thursday morning toward the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff added that the ballistic missile apparently failed during the second stage of separation, saying that the missile traveled a distance of 760 km, and reached an altitude of about 1920 km.
Seoul added that after the ballistic missile, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles from the "Kaechon" region, about 90 kilometers north of the capital, Pyongyang.
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And the South Korean "Yonhap" agency reported that this is the seventh launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile by North Korea this year, and the first since last May.
Missiles capable of traveling more than 5,500 km are considered intercontinental ballistic missiles, and United Nations resolutions prohibit North Korea from testing ballistic missiles of any range, some of which are capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
The North Korean missile test prompted both the United States and South Korea to extend their joint air exercises, as the South Korean Air Force said today that the two sides had agreed to extend the “Watching Storm exercises,” which were launched on October 31, last October, due to “the provocations by North Korea".
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US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken described North Korea's launch of ballistic missiles as "escalatory and destabilizing behavior in the region", and Washington urged all countries to strengthen sanctions imposed on North Korea, on the grounds that it violated UN Security Council resolutions by launching an intercontinental ballistic missile.
US State Department spokesman Ned Brass added that the missile launches "show North Korea a threat to its neighbors, the region, and international peace and security," stressing the need for all countries to implement Security Council resolutions related to North Korea, in reference to the sanctions imposed on it.
In Japan, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday that North Korea's actions and ballistic missile launches "threaten the security of Japan and the international community."
On the day, Japanese authorities urged their citizens in Miyagi, Yamagata and Niigata prefectures to take shelter in enclosed spaces, after North Korea launched a ballistic missile off its eastern coast.