North Korea is apparently testing a second missile within a week

Enlarge image

In Seoul, people watch a television showing an archive image of a North Korean missile launch

Photo: Ahn Young-Joon / dpa

North Korea apparently conducted a second missile test within a week.

The projectile was fired around 7.27 a.m. (local time) from an area in the interior of North Korea in the direction of the ocean off the east coast of the country, South Korea announced on Tuesday.

It may have been a ballistic missile, the general staff in Seoul said.

Japan also confirmed the new weapons test by North Korea.

Government officials spoke of a suspected ballistic missile, the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported.

The rocket fell outside Japan's "exclusive economic zone" into the Sea of ​​Japan (Korean: East Sea).

Specific details of the missile type are not known.

It is also unclear how far the projectile flew.

Only last week, the politically largely isolated North Korea reported the successful test of a so-called hypersonic missile.

Missiles of this type can reach more than five times the speed of sound and are maneuverable in flight.

They are difficult to spot and intercept for conventional air defense.

South Korea's Ministry of Defense, however, questioned the information provided by North Korea that the hypersonic missile flew 700 kilometers.

UN Security Council members:

North Korea

increases risk of escalation

The United States and other UN Security Council countries saw North Korea's missile test last week as a threat to regional stability.

The steps taken by the autocracy in Pyongyang "increase the risk of misjudgments and escalations," it said on Monday in a joint statement by the USA, Great Britain, France, Ireland and Albania together with Japan.

Each new rocket launch not only promotes the weapons programs of the isolated country, but also expands the possibilities of illegal arms sales by North Korea all over the world.

Pyongyang is already subject to numerous international sanctions because of its nuclear and missile program.

UN resolutions prohibit North Korea from testing ballistic missiles, which, depending on their design, can also carry a nuclear warhead.

The regime has repeatedly stated that weapons are needed to defend against an impending US invasion.

The latest military show of force is likely to exacerbate tensions on the Korean peninsula.

The talks about a peace process between the two Korean states and the negotiations with the USA about a nuclear disarmament in North Korea have not made any progress for almost three years.

aar / dpa / AFP