North Korea fired what could be a ballistic missile: ‘US wants nuclear war’

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years owing to the pace of North Korean weapons demonstrations.

South Korea’s military said that it had detected a North Korean ballistic missile which was fired toward its eastern waters. The latest launch comes after a torrent of weapons tests in recent months that has elevated tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff didn't immediately say what type of missile it was or how far it flew.

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea. (AP)

Japan said that the missile had landed outside its EEZ, as per news agency Reuters. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years owing to the pace of North Korean weapons demonstrations and South Korea’s combined military exercises with Japan.

The weapons North Korea tested this year included intercontinental ballistic missiles that demonstrated potential range to reach the US mainland. North Korea also tested “simulated nuclear attacks” on targets in South Korea.

All of North Korea's ballistic missile activities are banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions. Pyongyang defends the tests as its sovereign right to self defence.

What North Korea said on the launch

North Korea's defence ministry condemned what it called reckless military moves by "thugs" in the United States and South Korea, minutes after the launch, state news agency KCNA reported. Citing the arrival of the US nuclear-powered submarine USS Missouri in South Korea, North Korea said that it was the latest act from the US that proves Washington is contemplating nuclear war.