Pyongyang, Oct 1: North Korea terminated a rocket off its east coast on Wednesday that South Korea said may have been propelled from a submarine, a day after it reported the resumption of negotiations with the United States aimed at complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
South Korea’s military said it had identified the launch of a missile that flew 450 km (280 miles) and arrived at an elevation of 910 km (565 miles). It was likely a Pukguksong-class weapon, as the North’s previous submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) were known, that is being worked on.
South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo told a parliamentary board of trustees on Wednesday the Pukguksong has a scope of around 1,300 km (910 miles) and that the apogee of the rocket terminated on Wednesday may have been raised to lessen the distance it voyaged.
South Korea’s military said the missile was propelled eastbound from the ocean upper east of Wonsan, the site of one of North Korea’s army installations on the east coast.
Moreover, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned the Wednesday missile launch, calling it a violation of the United Nations (UN) security council resolution.
Japan’s central Cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said it gave the idea that one rocket was propelled and had split in two and afterward fallen into the ocean.