The launch came less than two weeks after Pyongyang’s state media reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had overseen a successful test of a solid-fuel engine for a “new type of medium-range hypersonic missile.”
Japan also said it suspected North Korea had fired the missile, Kyodo news agency reported, adding that the country’s coast guard believed the missile had fallen.
Tuesday’s launch is the third ballistic missile test this year, following a solid-fuel missile launch in March and another test of a maneuverable hypersonic warhead in January.
Last year, North Korea said it had successfully test-fired its first solid-fueled intermediate-range ballistic missile – the largest and longest-range ballistic missile category – and said it was a major breakthrough in the country’s nuclear strike capability.
Solid-fuel missiles do not need to be fueled before launch, making them harder to find and destroy, and they can be used more quickly.
This year, nuclear-armed North Korea has declared South Korea its main enemy, scrapped key de-escalation agreements, beefed up border security and threatened war over “even 0.001 mm” of territorial infringement.
