North Korea launched

The US military detected a launch of a medium-range ballistic missile in North Korea, a representative of the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) told TASS on Tuesday.

The missiles flew towards the Sea of Japan, the representative said.

“US Pacific Command detected and tracked what we assess was a North Korean missile launch at 2:40 p.m. Hawaii time July 03. The single launch of a land-based, intermediate range ballistic missile occurred near the Panghyon Airfield. The missile was tracked for 37 minutes and landed in the Sea of Japan,” he said.

“The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) assessed that the missile launch from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America,” he added.

Earlier on Tuesday, South Korea’s Yonhap agency reported that the launch of the missiles was carried out from North Pyongan province.

Another launch of a ballistic missile by Pyongyang clearly shows the growing threat of its nuclear missile program, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a press conference on Tuesday.

“North Korea again launched a ballistic missile, ignoring numerous warnings of the global community. The current missile launch clearly shows that the threat [of North Korea] has increased even more,” he said.

In the beginning of the year, the situation on the Korean Peninsula worsened, after Pyongyang, in violation of the resolutions of the UN Security Council, carried out a nuclear test and later launched a ballistic missile with an artificial Earth satellite. In September 2016, North Korea conducted another nuclear test, and during the year carried out more than 20 missile launches.

On June 2, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on expanding sanctions against North Korea. The document adds several organizations and individuals who are involved in Pyongyang’s programs for the development of nuclear weapons and their means of delivery to the sanctions list.