North Korea fires 'ballistic missile,' say South Korea, Japan

ISTANBUL

South Korea and Japan claimed on Thursday that North Korea launched a suspected ballistic missile toward the East Sea.

In a brief statement, the South Korean military said Pyongyang fired the unspecified missile. Its launch came just two days after South Korea's new president, Yoon Suk-yeol, was sworn in.

The office of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also confirmed the suspected ballistic missile launch by North Korea. "More updates to follow," it said in a statement on Twitter.

This comes as the UN-sanctioned nation reported its first cases of COVID-19 since the virus outbreak was initially reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019.

It was the second missile launch since Saturday when Pyongyang fired a suspected submarine-launched ballistic missile toward its eastern waters.

With the latest launch, North Korea has reportedly fired 16 missiles since the beginning of the year.

ISTANBUL

South Korea and Japan claimed on Thursday that North Korea launched a suspected ballistic missile toward the East Sea.

In a brief statement, the South Korean military said Pyongyang fired the unspecified missile. Its launch came just two days after South Korea's new president, Yoon Suk-yeol, was sworn in.

The office of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also confirmed the suspected ballistic missile launch by North Korea. "More updates to follow," it said in a statement on Twitter.

This comes as the UN-sanctioned nation reported its first cases of COVID-19 since the virus outbreak was initially reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019.

It was the second missile launch since Saturday when Pyongyang fired a suspected submarine-launched ballistic missile toward its eastern waters.

With the latest launch, North Korea has reportedly fired 16 missiles since the beginning of the year.