North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile Tuesday from North Pyong’an Province that flew into waters east of the Korean Peninsula, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The projectile may have landed in Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends 200 nautical miles from its coastline, Takahiro Hirano, Public Affairs Officer from Japan’s Ministry of Defense told CNN.
The launch comes amid signs that US President Donald Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress in curbing North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
On Friday, Trump declared US patience with North Korea was “over” and on Sunday he spoke with the leaders of both China and Japan, two important regional actors in the ongoing standoff with Pyongyang.
Trump has repeatedly urged China, North Korea’s neighbor to the north and one of the only countries in the region with diplomatic ties to Pyongyang, to bring its influence to bear on the issue. He recently tweeted that Chinese efforts on North Korea, while appreciated, had “not worked out.”
This would be the eleventh missile test conducted by North Korea this year.
