North Korea Fires Projectile Over Japan

Aggressive test flight likely to rattle the region
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 28, 2017 5:26 PM CDT
North Korea Fires Projectile Over Japan
In this Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, file photo, a man watches a screen showing an image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea.    (Lee Jin-man)

North Korea fired an unidentified projectile from its capital Pyongyang that flew over Japan, officials said, an especially aggressive test-flight that will rattle an already anxious region, the AP reports. Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff on Tuesday said the South Korean and US militaries were analyzing the launch and the South Korean military said the projectile traveled 1678 miles with a height of 341 miles. Japanese officials said the missile flew over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido and landed in the Pacific Ocean. There was no damage to ships or anything else reported. Japan's NHK TV said the missile separated into three parts.

The launch comes days after the North fired what was assessed as three short-range ballistic missiles into the sea and a month after its second flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, which analysts say could reach deep into the US mainland when perfected. North Korea typically reacts with anger to US-South Korean military drills, which are happening now, often staging weapons tests and releasing threats to Seoul and Washington in its state-controlled media. But animosity is higher than usual following threats by US President Donald Trump to unleash "fire and fury" on the North, and Pyongyang's stated plan to consider firing some of its missiles toward Guam. (More North Korea stories.)

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