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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (left) inspects a strategic missile base, in this photo released by the North's Korean Central News Agency on Oct. 23. (Yonhap) |
North Korea fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile on a lofted trajectory toward the East Sea on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, hours after the defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States jointly condemned the North's troop deployment to Russia.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the launch at about 7:10 a.m. from the North's Pyongyang area.
"North Korea's ballistic missile appears to be an ICBM fired on a lofted trajectory," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.
"Amid a heightened readiness posture, our military maintains full readiness as we closely share North Korean ballistic information with US and Japanese authorities," it added.
The launch came just hours after the defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States condemned North Korea's troop deployment to Russia with "one voice" in the "strongest" terms during the allies' annual defense talks at the Pentagon on Wednesday.
North Korea last fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles on Sept. 18. It last fired an ICBM on Dec. 18.
