North Korea fires medium range ballistic missile brushing past Japan as WW3 tensions mount – Express.co.uk

South Korea's Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement the projectile took off on Sunday afternoon, (07.59GMT) from a location near Pukchang.

The office did not give further details, but Japan later confirmed it as a medium range ballistic missile test.

The White House said that it is aware of this latest North Korea missile launch and notes that this system has a shorter range than the missiles launched in North Koreas three most recent tests.

Japan has said that the country strongly protests North Korea and calls the missile launch intolerable and a clear violation of UN resolution.

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The Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference that the missile was launched around 7:59 GMT from North Koreas west coast towards the Sea of Japan and it probably landed outside Japans exclusive economic zone, without causing damages to ships and aeroplanes.

A week ago,North Koreatested another missile, which it said was capable of carrying a large nuclear warhead.

Pukchang is an area where Pyongyang attempted to test-launch another missile last month, but failed.

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North Korea has defied any calls to decrease its nuclear and missile programmes, even from its only ally, China.

Yesterday analysts revealed that Pyongyang has launched a ballistic missile, which has re-entered the Earths atmosphere.

North Korea see this as a significant breakthrough for the state.

Donald Trump has pledged to place stronger economic and diplomatic sanctions on the hermit kingdom as it scrambles to build nuclear weapons.

North Korea has announced that the US is within strike range.

On Saturday, North Koreas state KCNA news agency said: Today the U.S. mainland and the Pacific operational theatre are within the strike range of the DPRK and the DPRK has all kinds of powerful means for annihilating retaliatory strike.

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The country regularly tests its short-range missiles and wants to develop ones that can reach the United States.

Last week, the UN Security Council again demanded that Pyongyang conduct no further such tests.

However all of North Koreas nuclear tests are in defiance of UN sanctions.

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North Korea fires medium range ballistic missile brushing past Japan as WW3 tensions mount - Express.co.uk