North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile

Seoul: North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Saturday in the latest flare-up of tensions just four days ahead of the presidential election in South Korea, the military in Seoul said.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from around the Sunan area in Pyongyang at 8.48 a.m. and that the missile flew around 270 km at a top altitude of 560 km, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The latest launch, the North's ninth show of force this year, came less than a week after it claimed to have conducted a "reconnaissance satellite" development test that the South called a ballistic missile launch.

"The North's recent series of ballistic missile launches are a significant threat to not only the international community but also peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," the JCS said in a press statement.

"We strongly urge the North to immediately stop them." The North appears to have launched the missile at a steep angle from a Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) from the Sunan airfield, a JCS official said. Saturday's missile appears to be similar to the one fired also at a steep angle at the Sunan airfield on February 27, the official said.

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