North Korea has fired a single long-range ballistic missile off its east coast, according to South Korea's military, as leaders of both Japan and South Korea are in Lithuania for NATO summit meetings.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was launched from the area around the North's capital, Pyongyang, at around 10 a.m. local time Wednesday.
The missile was in flight for about 74 minutes, according to Japan Coast Guard data, suggesting the long-range ballistic missile was flown in a lofted trajectory. That would mark the longest flight for a North Korean missile, Japanese media report, citing a defense ministry official.
U.S. Japanese and South Korean militaries are analyzing related data.
North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles on June 15, both of which landed within Japan's economic zone. Its last long-range launch on April 13 had tested a solid fuel ICBM, the Hwasong 18, for the first time.
The missile launch comes on the heels of a trio of angry statements posted within a 24-hour period on North Korean media KCNA this week. The statements accused U.S. drones and reconnaissance planes of "intruding" North Korea's exclusive economic zone to spy on the state along its eastern coastline.
Two were delivered by the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who warned North Korean forces would react "clearly and decisively" should the U.S. cross into its economic zone again.
Both South Korea and the U.S. said the aerial maneuvers were routine in nature.
"As a matter of international law, the DPRK's recent statements that U.S. flights above its claimed exclusive economic zone are unlawful are unfounded," U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told a press gaggle on Tuesday, referring to North Korea by its official acronym, "as high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in such areas."
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol are both in Vilnius, Lithuania, as special invitees to the NATO summit, as part of NATO's Asia-Pacific Partners grouping that also includes Australia and New Zealand.
