North Korea Test Missile Ahead of US-China Talks

According to South Korea's military, North Korea has test-fired a ballistic missile off its east coast. South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the missile reportedly flew 40 miles from its launch site at Sinpo, home to a North Korean submarine base.

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The launch comes just a day before the start of a scheduled summit between the U.S. President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping. The two heads of state are supposed to discuss measures to pressure North Korea into discontinuing its arms development. "The launch took place possibly in consideration of the U.S.-China summit, while at the same time it was to check its missile capability," a South Korean official told Reuters.

The official added that the missile was fired at a high angle and reached an altitude of 117 miles. Any launch of objects using ballistic missile technology is a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. North Korea has repeatedly defied the ban, saying it infringes on its sovereign rights to self-defense and the pursuit of space exploration. Two weeks ago, North Korea failed in an attempt to launch a ballistic missile from the same coast. They also fired four missiles towards Japan, some of which came within 190 miles of its coast.

Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned the launch, saying further provocative actions were possible. Additionally, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga described the launch as "extremely problematic" and said Tokyo had lodged a strong protest. South Korea's Foreign Ministry also condemned the launch, describing it as a boldface challenge to the U.N. Security Council resolutions targeting North Korea's nuclear and missile program.

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Seoul called a National Security Council meeting and vowed to respond strongly to any provocations. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement, "The United States has spoken enough about North Korea. We have no further comment."

The U.S. and South Korean militaries said initial assessments indicated the launch was a KN-15 medium-range ballistic missile, which would be the same kind North Korea test-launched in February. "While it is entirely possible it was the land-based KN-15, it very well could have been a test of their SLBM system that was conducted on land," said Dave Schmerler, an expert at the California-based James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

The North is believed to be developing an intercontinental ballistic missile that can hit the United States. Experts and U.S. and South Korea officials believe Pyongyang is still a long way from mastering the technology required to operate such a system.