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Agence France-Presse

North Korea on Sunday test-fired a ballistic missile, the latest in a series of launches which have sparked international condemnation and threats of tougher UN sanctions.
South Korea described the launch, the second in a week and the 10th this year, as “reckless and irresponsible” while the US military stressed “ironclad commitment” to defend its allies in the region.
The missile, described by Washington as a medium-range one, was fired from Pukchang in South Pyongan province and travelled about 500km, according to the South’s armed forces.
“Our military is closely monitoring signs for additional provocation by the North Korean military and we are keeping a full military readiness,” said a statement from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The launch came just one week after the North fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range missile, which according to Pyongyang flew almost 800km and could carry a “heavy” nuclear warhead. Analysts said the Hwasong travelled further than any previous ballistic missile launched by the North.

The May 14 launch was seen as a significant step forward as the North accelerates efforts to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the continental United States.
The launches, and a threatened sixth nuclear test, have fuelled tension with the administration of US President Donald Trump, who has vowed that such an ICBM launch “won’t happen”.
A White House official visiting Saudi Arabia with Trump appeared to play down Sunday’s firing.
“We are aware that North Korea launched an MRBM (medium-range ballistic missile). This system, last tested in February, has a shorter range than the missiles launched in North Korea’s three most recent tests,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
But the South’s foreign ministry slammed the “reckless and irresponsible” firing as “throwing cold water on the hope and longing of the new government and the international community” for denuclearisation and peace on the Korean peninsula.
Seoul’s incoming left-leaning government has taken a more conciliatory line with Pyongyang than its conservative predecessors, but reacted strongly to the latest two missile tests.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the missile launches “trample on efforts by the international community towards a peaceful solution and are a challenge to the world”, Kyodo News reported.

The US Pacific Command said it tracked the missile until it landed in the Sea of Japan, or East Sea.
“US Pacific Command stands behind our ironclad commitment to the security of our allies in the Republic of Korea [South Korea] and Japan,” it added in a statement.
Pyongyang has long had missiles that can reach targets across South Korea and Japan.
With an imputed range of 4,500km the Hwasong-12 also puts US bases on the Pacific island of Guam within reach.
The UN Security Council met behind closed doors last Tuesday to discuss tightening sanctions on North Korea after its May 14 launch.
Top diplomats offer signs of Sino-US progress on handling North Korea
US ambassador Nikki Haley said the United States was working with China, Pyongyang’s main ally, on a new sanctions resolution and warned that all countries must step up action against North Korea or face measures themselves.
The North says it needs missiles and nuclear weapons to deter any attack by the United States, and state newspaper Minju Joson Sunday threatened more launches.
“If the US persists in confrontation with the DPRK [North Korea], the latter will show how the crime-woven history of the US is put to an end,” it said.
“Many more ‘Juche weapons’ capable of striking the US will be launched from this land. This is the DPRK’s answer to the Trump administration,” it said, referring to the national philosophy of “Juche” or self-reliance.


North Korea fires another ballistic missile despite sanctions threats

A woman walks by a TV news programme showing images of North Korean missile launch on May 15. Photo: AP

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves to North Korean scientists and technicians, who developed missile "Hwasong-12" in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) May 20, 2017. KCNA/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTORS. SOUTH KOREA OUT.

FILE - This file image made from video of an undated still image broadcast in a news bulletin on Monday, May 15, 2017, by North Korea's KRT shows leader Kim Jong Un at what was said to be a missile test site at an undisclosed location in North Korea after the North on Monday, May 15 boasted of a successful weekend launch of a new type of "medium long-range" ballistic rocket that can carry a heavy nuclear warhead. North Korea on Sunday, May 21, fired a midrange ballistic missile, U.S. and South Korean officials said, in the latest weapons test for a country speeding up its development of nuclear weapons and missiles. (KRT via AP Video, File)

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FILE - In this Saturday, April 15, 2017, file photo, commandoes march across the Kim Il Sung Square during a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea, to celebrate the 105th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung, the country's late founder and grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong Un. North Korea observers have long marveled at the ability of a small, impoverished, autocratic nation to go toe-to-toe with the world's superpowers. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

In this Tuesday, May 2, 2017, photo, a TV screen shows images of the U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea. South Koreans are bewildered by President Donald Trump's recent use of the term "smart cookie" to refer to current leader Kim Jong Un, and by Trump's assertion that he'd be "honored" by a possible meeting. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: KCNA

Television footage of a North Korean missile launch, at a railway station in Seoul. Photo: AFP

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