South Korea confirmed that North Korea launched a ballistic missile off its eastern coast Sunday.The Japanese Coast Guard also confirmed that a projectile, probably a ballistic missile, launched from North Korea had indeed landed.According to Korean News Agency (Yonhap), the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that the Korean army is currently working on analyzing the missiles flight distance, height, speed and other details.This is the first launch of a ballistic missile this year, 27 days after the North launched a Hwasong-18 solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Dec. 18. North Korea launched ballistic missiles on two consecutive days on Dec. 17 and 18 last year.Tensions escalated on the Korean Peninsula after Pyongyang launched the first military spy satellite in November.Last December, North Korea said it had tested its latest intercontinental ballistic missiles to measure the war readiness of its nuclear force in the face of escalating US hostility, while Washington and its allies activated a system to exchange missile data in real time. (QNA)
