North Korea fires possible ballistic missile, says Japanese coast guard

GBNEWS24DESK//

North Korea fired what may be a ballistic missile on Tuesday, the Japanese coast guard said, the second apparent missile launch in less than a week after the reclusive state’s leader urged the military to make more military advances.

South Korea’s military also confirmed the launch of an “unidentified projectile,” without elaborating.

Last week, North Korea said it fired a “hypersonic missile” that successfully hit a target on Wednesday, reports Reuters.

The test launches by nuclear-armed North Korea underscored leader Kim Jong Un’s New Year’s vow to bolster the military to counter an unstable international situation amid stalled talks with South Korea and the United States.

The latest test came a day after the United States mission to the United Nations, joined by France, Ireland, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Albania, issued a joint statement condemning last week’s test.

“These actions increase the risk of miscalculation and escalation and pose a significant threat to regional stability,” U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in the statement on Monday. Such tests not only improve the North’s capabilities, but expands what it can offer illicit arms clients and dealers around the world, she added.

“(North Korea) makes these military investments at the expense of the well-being of the North Korean people,” she said.

Thomas-Greenfield reiterated calls for North Korea to return to talks and abandon its missiles and nuclear weapons.

“Our goal remains the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” she said.