Pyongyang fires ballistic missile – S. Korea

Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile towards the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, the South Korean military said on Wednesday.

South Korean news agency Yonhap cited the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) as announcing the test but no further details were released.

The Kyodo news agency cited the Japanese government as saying that the projectile appeared to be a ballistic missile.

The missile had fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, according to a government source, Kyodo reported.

The situation on the Korean peninsula is currently very tense.

Nuclear-armed North Korea has conducted a string of missile tests in the past few weeks.

UN resolutions prohibit North Korea from testing ballistic missiles of any range.

Observers feared that Pyongyang’s first nuclear test in years was imminent.

On Monday North Korea’s military vowed to take sustained, resolute, and overwhelming measures in response to the joint U.S.-South Korean military air exercises.

It ended on Saturday after six days.