North Korea launched what it said was a “space missile” Thursday morning on the first day of the deadline set by Pyongyang for its second attempt to launch a satellite, the South Korean military said.
South Korea’s chiefs of staff said Pyongyang “launched what the North said fired a launch vehicle,” according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, without giving further details.
The launch of this spacecraft was first reported by the Japanese government, which indicated that North Korea had launched a suspected ballistic missile that flew over Japanese territory.
On Tuesday, Pyongyang told Japan the launch would take place between August 24 and 31, prompting Tokyo to mobilize ships and put its PAC-3 missile defense system on alert.
Seoul has called such a launch “illegal” as it violates UN sanctions banning North Korea from conducting ballistic technology tests used for both space and missile launches.
The dismissal came days after the leaders of the US, South Korea and Japan met in the United States, at which North Korea’s nuclear threat was a key point of discussion.
In May, North Korea attempted to launch its first military reconnaissance satellite, but the launch vehicle crashed into the sea minutes after launch.