Japan warned on Saturday that the new North Korean projectiles have trajectories that are not typical for conventional ballistic missiles which makes it difficult to intercept them.

The new North Korean projectiles had irregular trajectories and flew at lower altitudes than conventional ballistic missiles which makes it difficult to intercept them, the Japanese Defense Ministry said, as quoted by the NHK broadcaster.

With that, the defense officials acknowledged that this type of projectiles could reach Japan as, based on findings of the US and South Korean military, the ones launched on Thursday flew about 600 km (373 miles), the report added.

According to the broadcaster, Japan is determined to work out appropriate countermeasures in close collaboration with the United States.

On Thursday, North Korea fired two projectiles from an area close to its coastal city of Wonsan. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff subsequently said that the launches were of two short-range missiles that flew around 267 miles at an altitude of 31 miles before falling into the Sea of Japan.

On Friday, North Korea’s state-run media reported that the launches were tests of a new tactical guided weapon and were observed by leader Kim Jong-un.

The reports come less than a month after Kim and US President Donald Trump met in the Korean demilitarized zone and agreed to restart denuclearization talks.

Source: Sputnik </s> The reported failure of the latest, short-range missiles suggested Pyongyang may have been trialling new technology, officials said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) ast week delayed the Guam strike plan, but warned it could go ahead depending on Washington's next move. (Photo: File)

Seoul: North Korea fired three short-range ballistic missiles Saturday, the US military said, reviving tensions with Washington after President Donald Trump had said the reclusive nation's leader Kim Jong Un was starting to show some "respect".

The launches come as tens of thousands of South Korean and US troops take part in joint military drills in the south of the peninsula, which Pyongyang views as highly provocative.

Two of the missiles failed in flight and the third blew up "almost immediately", with none of the weapons posing a threat to either North America or the US territory of Guam, said a spokesman for US Pacific Command.

Lee Il-Woo, an analyst at Korea Defence Network, said the launch represented a "low-level provocative act" carried out in response to the US-South Korea exercises, which are seen by Pyongyang as a rehearsal for an invasion of its own territory.

The joint exercises started Monday at a time of heightened tensions between Pyongyang and Washington, after two successful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches carried out by North Korea last month apparently brought most of the United States into range for the first time.

The reported failure of the latest, short-range missiles suggested Pyongyang may have been trialling new technology, or using up old weaponry, Lee said.

"The North might have been testing new multiple rocket launchers, or short-range ballistic missiles or firing off decaying age-old ballistic missiles stored in a missile base near the eastern coast, where the projectiles were fired," he said.

"It tends to fire untested missiles or rockets from the coast toward the sea to avoid possible fallouts."

The launches, which took place over a span of 30 minutes, came as North Korean state media reported that leader Kim Jong-Un oversaw a military exercise simulating a special forces assault on South Korean border islands involving aircraft, "multiple-missile launchers" and howitzers.

Shells hit islands standing in for South Korea's Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands while special forces landed in rubber boats or parachuted in and "wiped out the desperate enemy with various combat methods," the Korean Central News Agency said.

The North bombarded Yeonpyeong island in November 2010 in response to a South Korean live-fire drill near the tense sea border, killing four South Koreans -- two soldiers and two civilians -- and prompting Seoul to return the fire.

"Kim Jong-Un expressed great satisfaction over the successful target-striking contest," it said.

- 'Starting to respect' -

 North Korea's ICBM launches last month triggered an intense warning by President Donald Trump that Washington could rain "fire and fury" on the North.

Pyongyang then threatened to fire a salvo of missiles towards the US territory of Guam, but later backed away from the plan and tensions had eased.

Trump said Wednesday that Kim Jong-Un was "starting to respect" the United States, hours after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said talks with the nuclear-armed North over its banned weapons programmes might be possible "in the near future".

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Saturday that Trump was aware of the launches.

"In regards to activity in North Korea tonight, the president has been briefed and we are monitoring the situation," she said.

Neither Japan nor South Korea confirmed Saturday the US military's description of the weapons fired by North Korea's "ballistic missiles".

South Korea's defence ministry said "unidentified projectiles", fired at 6:49 am (2149 GMT Friday), flew some 250 kilometres (155 miles) towards the Sea of Japan.

"They could be ballistic missiles but they could be rockets. We are now analysing," said Japan's Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera, adding that they did not fly on a "lofted" trajectory.

The North's missiles have alarmed Japan since a Taepodong-1 overflew its territory in 1998. In April 2009, Pyongyang launched a long-range rocket which flew over Japan in what it said was an attempt to put a satellite into orbit, but which was seen by the US, Japan and South Korea as a disguised test of a Taepodong-2.

Under Kim Jong-un, Pyongyang has made rapid strides in its ballistic missile technology, which it is banned from pursuing under United Nations resolutions that have slapped it with seven sets of sanctions.

"We understand that today's action indicated North Korea consistently continues developing nuclear weapons and missiles. We have to respond firmly," said Onodera. </s> North Korea said in its first statement since launching missiles on Monday the tests were part of training for potential strikes against U.S. bases in Japan.Pyongyang’s state-controlled news agency KCNA said Tuesday “Comrade Kim Jong Un had provided field guidance to the Hwasong artillery unit of the Korean People’s Army.”KCNA also stated the Hwasong unit were part of the training because it is “tasked with striking the U.S. imperial troops based in Japan, in the case of an emergency.”The missiles were fired the minute Kim Jong Un “issued his order, at which moment ballistic rockets burst simultaneously into a thunderous explosion as they flew toward the brightening eastern sky, proudly leaving behind vapor trails that symbolized the destruction of the enemy.”The North Korean leader reportedly expressed his satisfaction with the test, comparing the “simultaneous launches to a flying squadron.”Kim said the ballistic missile launches send a warning to the enemy and added North Korea’s military “fully demonstrated its power, and the ability to destroy the enemy in the most accurate, swift and thorough manner.”According to South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff on Monday, four missiles were fired in succession in 10 minutes, and each missile was launched at different angles.On Monday the Pentagon said a fifth missile was launched but failed.North Korea only confirmed the suspicion of South Korea military chiefs about the goals of its missile testing.According to South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff, three of the four missiles landed in Japanese territorial waters, making it likely North Korea is rehearsing attacks against U.S. military stations in Japan, from where reinforcements for the Korean peninsula would arrive in the event of war.Seoul said all four projectiles were most likely midrange ballistic missiles that are not capable of reaching the continental United States, South Korean newspaper Kukmin Ilbo reported Monday.The rockets, which all flew distances of 620 miles or less, could have been projectiles like the Rodong, the Scud-ER, or a modified missile like the Pukguksong-2, launched Feb. 12.But the South Korea military is not ruling out the possibility that at least one of the missiles was an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, because of the location of the launch.The station in Tongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province, has been the site of previously long-range rocket tests.In another development, North Korea said on Tuesday it has temporarily banned Malaysians from leaving the country to ensure the safety of its diplomats and citizens in Malaysia.The ban came amid an escalating row over the killing of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s half-brother, Kim Jong Nam.The North’s foreign ministry has notified the Malaysian embassy in Pyongyang of the reason for the measure and said it had hoped the case would be swiftly and fairly resolved in order to develop bilateral ties with Malaysia, the North’s KCNA news agency reported. </s> Pentagon confirms S Korean military's report of missile landing in sea off its eastern coast after '45-minute flight'.

North Korea has launched a ballistic missile, according to multiple military reports, just weeks after the country tested an intercontinental rocket capable of hitting parts of the US.

South Korea's military and Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister, confirmed the report of Friday's launch. In Seoul and Tokyo, the governments convened meetings of their national security councils.

US navy Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesperson, said the launch occurred at about 14:45 GMT, but it was not immediately known what type of missile it was.

"I can confirm that we detected a launch of a ballistic missile from North Korea," Davis said.

"We are assessing and will have more information soon."

South Korea's Yonhap news agency, citing the country's military joint chiefs of staff, said the missile was launched from North Korea's Jagang province, and landed in the East Sea.

"There is a possibility that it landed within our EEZ (exclusive economic zone). We will be analysing it immediately and do our best for the safety of our people," Abe said in Tokyo.

Quoting the Japanese chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, the Associated Press news agency said the missile "flew for about 45 minutes and appeared to have landed in the waters of Japan's exclusive economic zone".

The distance of the missile flight could have been more than 3,000km, Japan's NHK said quoting a defence official.

There were no immediate reports of damage.

The US military and South Korea had in recent days warned that North Korea appeared to be preparing for another missile test - possibly of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), or else an intermediate-range rocket.

Al Jazeera's Kathy Novak, reporting from Seoul, said Friday's apparent missile launch was "not entirely unexpected".

"There were signs from officials in the United States and South Korea that preparations were being made for a missile launch in North Korea and there Korean peninsula was a high alert," she said.

She also said Thursday marked the anniversary of the end of the Korean War, and "in the past North Korea has been known to have these proactive measures on important holidays".

North Korea created a stir on July 4 when it test-fired its first ICBM, which experts believe could have the potential to reach Alaska.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, who personally oversaw that launch on America's Independence Day, described it as a gift to the "American bastards".

The test raised tensions in the region, pitting the US, Japan and South Korea against China, North Korea's last remaining major ally.

After the July test, the US launched a push at the UN for tougher measures against North Korea.

In all, six sets of UN sanctions have been imposed on North Korea since it first tested an atomic device in 2006, but two resolutions adopted last year significantly toughened the sanctions regime.

Al Jazeera's Patty Culhane, reporting from Washington, DC, said the concern is that the North Korean missile fired on Friday may have been another ICBM.

"What the Pentagon is doing now is looking at the trajectory and trying to figure out how capable this missile is," she said.

Incidentally, the US military is preparing to conduct another test of a missile-intercept system in Alaska, perhaps as soon as Saturday.

That test of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system had been scheduled before Friday's developments.

The US has layers of missile defence capabilities comprising several components designed to take down different types of missile at different phases of flight. </s> North Korea said on Friday its latest missile launch was a warning to South Korean "warmongers" to stop importing weapons and conducting joint military drills, a message that analysts said was also aimed at the United States.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally watched the test-fire of two short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday, the first test since Kim met with US President Donald Trump last month and agreed to revive denuclearization talks.

The missile tests raise doubts about the revival of denuclearization talks, which stalled after the collapse of a second summit between Kim and Trump in Hanoi in February.

"We cannot but develop nonstop super-powerful weapon systems to remove the potential and direct threats to the security of our country that exist in the south," Kim said, according to state news agency KCNA.

In a statement on Friday, Colonel Lee Peters, a spokesman for the combined command of US and South Korean troops, said the launches "were not a threat directed at [South Korea] or the US, and have no impact on our defence posture."

In public statements, Pyongyang has shown increasing frustration that South Korea has not followed through on promised economic cooperation or peace agreements, all while importing the latest F-35 stealth fighters and conducting military drills with the United States.

The KCNA report did not mention Trump or the United States but said Kim criticized South Korean authorities for staging joint military exercises, which Trump promised to end after his first meeting with Kim in June 2018.

North Korea accused Washington of breaking that promise by planning to hold joint military exercises with South Korea next month and warned of a possible end to its freeze in nuclear and long-range missile tests.

While Friday's message is very clearly directed at Seoul, it does send signals to Washington as well, said Jenny Town, managing editor at 38 North, a project that studies North Korea.

"On some level, this is like North Korea's version of maximum pressure on South Korea and the United States."

North Korean state newspaper Rodong Sinmun showed photos of the missile launching, Kim Jong Un looking through binoculars and at screens appearing to show the missile trajectory, and smiling and clapping with his officials.

Kim said the test was "a solemn warning to the south Korean military warmongers" and accused South Koreans of "double-dealing" for saying they support peace but simultaneously importing new weapons and conducting military drills.

South Korea's leader should stop such "suicidal acts" and "should not make a mistake of ignoring the warning," Kim said.

Kim said he was satisfied with the rapid response and low-altitude trajectory of the weapon, which he said would make it difficult to intercept.

Peters said the combined US and South Korean command assessed the ballistic missiles as "a new type of missile" for North Korea.

Based on initial photos released by North Korea, the missile appears to be a similar type as those first launched in May, said Jeffrey Lewis, a missile researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS).

At least one of the missiles on Thursday flew much farther, however, suggesting that the North Koreans may have made some modifications since May, Lewis said.

Ballistic missile tests would be a violation of UN Security Council resolutions that ban North Korean use of such technology. North Korea rejects the restriction as an infringement of its right to self-defense.

When asked what message the Trump administration was taking from North Korea's launch of short-range missiles, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News that prior to US-North Korea negotiations Pyongyang had been engaged in activity "far more dangerous for America and Japan and for South Korea".

Pompeo said when Kim met Trump at the DMZ he had agreed to "avoid launching intermediate-range and long-range ballistic missiles" and "put his negotiating team back in the game". He said fresh talks were still possible.

"You know, lots of countries posture before they come to the table," Pompeo told Fox News. </s> The United States detected a North Korean ballistic missile launch this morning, according to Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis.

It was detected at about 10:45 a.m. ET and is still being assessed, Davis said.

It was not immediately clear if this was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff said North Korea launched a missile at 11:41 p.m. local time, according to Yonhap News Agency in South Korea.

The Japanese government said it believes a North Korean missile was launched and then fell in waters off Japan’s coast, in what’s known as the Exclusive Economic Zone. Japan's coast guard is warning ships in the area to look out for debris and alert the government if anything is found, according to NHK, Japan's national public broadcasting organization.

Friday’s ballistic missile launch is North Korea’s 11th ballistic missile test this year and the first since North Korea launched an historic ICBM on July 4, an action U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said represented "a new escalation of the threat to the United States, our allies and partners, the region and the world."

That ICBM flew at a trajectory of 1,730 miles above Earth for 37 minutes before crashing into the Sea of Japan.

A U.S. official told ABC News earlier this week that North Korea could test another ICBM as early as Wednesday night.

U.S. officials had suspected a test could occur on July 27 to mark the North Korean holiday known as "Day of Victory," which celebrates the end of hostilities in the Korean War in 1953.

But rainy weather at the launch location and technical difficulties appeared to have prevented a launch until late Friday night.

This story is developing. Please check back for more updates. </s> WASHINGTON — North Korea has fired another intercontinental ballistic missile, the Pentagon said Friday.

The Department of Defense detected the ballistic missile launch and later confirmed it to be an ICBM by an initial assessment, U.S. officials said. It flew approximately 1,000 kilometers and landed in the Sea of Japan within Japan’s exclusive economic zone, according to Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis.

It was determined not to be a threat. But South Korea said it was more robust than the first ICBM launched by North Korea earlier this month.

The launch prompted the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to call his South Korea counterpart to discuss “military response options,” said the chairman’s spokesman, Capt. Greg Hicks. The call “expressed the ironclad commitment to the U.S.-Republic of Korea alliance,” Hicks said.

Davis confirmed that the U.S. and South Korea conducted a joint live fire exercise Saturday morning in response to North Korea’s ICBM launch.

A South Korea military official said the projectile had been fired around 11:41 p.m. local time (10:41 a.m. ET) on Friday and at its highest altitude, traveled at around 3,700 kilometers — “meaning that the firing range has made progress since the last launch” of an ICBM.

“South Korean military has strengthened surveillance and deterrence against North Korea’s additional provocations. We are totally prepared for all possible situations,” the official added.

He said South Korean officials were working with the U.S. to get a more detailed analysis.

North Korea confirmed the ICBM test launch through its state news agency and said the test was a “stern warning” for the United States, according to Reuters. The North Korean state news agency KCNA said the test was ordered by the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un.

North Korea first tested an ICBM on July 4, which proved it had a range capable of reaching certain parts of the United States.

The latest ICBM flew for about 45 minutes, said main Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga. There hadn’t been any reports of nearby planes or ships affected, he added.

Related: North Korea Crisis: How Events Have Unfolded Under Trump

“The prime minister was immediately informed of this, and he gave the following three instructions: to do our utmost to collect intelligence and analyze data, and provide swift and accurate information to the public; to confirm the safety of our planes and ships; and to be prepared for any unforeseen events,” he said in a press conference Friday.

“We cannot accept these repeated provocations by North Korea and we made our protest to the North Koreans using the strongest words possible,” Suga said.

The Union of Concerned Scientists, a science advocacy non-profit, estimated based on available information about the missile test’s trajectory that it could “easily reach the U.S. West Coast and a number of major U.S. cities.”

North Korea is barred by the United Nations from having a nuclear arms program, but has brazenly defied that ban.

The secretive nation has done several ballistic missile tests just this year alone, escalating tensions with the United States since President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. It has conducted five nuclear tests since 2006.

“Our commitment to the defense of our allies, including the Republic of Korea and Japan, in the face of these threats, remains ironclad,” Davis said in a statement Friday. “We remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies from any attack or provocation.”

Courtney Kube reported from Washington, Elizabeth Chuck from New York. </s> The Latest on North Korea firing short-range missiles into the sea (all times local):

Japan's Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya says North Korea's missile test launches are probably a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Iwaya told reporters Japan is still analyzing what type of missiles North Korea fired into the sea early Thursday. South Korea's military says they were two short-range missiles, leading some observers to suggest they were not a major provocation but rather the North's warning of what may happen if the nuclear negotiations with the U.S. fail.

Iwaya says, "If they were ballistic missiles, they violate the U.N. sanctions, and I find it extremely regrettable."

Japan's Defense Ministry says it has not found any flying objects reaching the Japanese territory or its 200-mile exclusive economic zone from the North Korean launch of two short-range missiles.

The ministry has not detected signs that Thursday morning's missile launches posed any immediate threat to Japan's national security.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says the missiles fired from around the North's eastern coastal town of Wonsan flew about 430 kilometers (270 miles) before landing in the waters off the country's east coast.

South Korea says North Korea has launched two identified projectiles into the sea off its east coast.

The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectile launch came from an area near the eastern city of Wonsan on Thursday.

It said the projectiles flew 430 kilometers. </s> North Korea said on July 26 that two missiles fired under the supervision of leader Kim Jong Un the day before...

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected the demonstration of a "new-type tactical guided weapon" on Thursday as a warning to South Korean "warmongers" to stop importing weapons and conducting joint military drills, state media said on Friday. North Korea test-fired two new short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday, South Korean officials said, its first missile test since Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to revive denuclearisation talks last month."We cannot but develop nonstop super-powerful weapon systems to remove the potential and direct threats to the security of our country that exist in the south," Kim said, according to state news agency KCNA.The U.S. State Department urged Pyongyang to refrain from further provocations and hoped for a resumption of working-level talks on North Korea's denuclearisation. South Korea also urged Pyongyang to stop acts unhelpful to easing tension and said the tests posed a military threat.The KCNA report did not mention Trump or the United States, but said Kim criticised South Korean authorities for staging joint military exercises, which are usually conducted with U.S. troops.Kim said the test was "a solemn warning to the south Korean military warmongers" and accused South Koreans of "double dealing" for saying they support peace but simultaneously importing new weapons and conducting military drills.South Korea's leader should stop such "suicidal acts" and "should not make a mistake of ignoring the warning," Kim said.Kim said he was satisfied with the rapid response and low-altitude trajectory of the weapon, which he said would make it difficult to intercept.South Korea's defence ministry said the missiles were launched from North Korea's east coast near Wonsan city travelled about 267 miles (430 km) and 428 miles (688 km) over the sea. They both reached an altitude of 30 miles (48 km).Seoul's National Security Council said on Thursday it believed the missiles were a new type of ballistic missile , but it would make a final assessment with the United States.Ballistic missile tests would be a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban North Korean use of such technology. North Korea rejects the restriction as an infringement of its right to self-defence.When asked what message the Trump administration was taking from North Korea's launch of short-range missiles, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News that prior to U.S.-North Korea negotiations Pyongyang had been engaged in activity "far more dangerous for America and Japan and for South Korea".Pompeo said when Kim met Trump at the DMZ he had agreed to "avoid launching intermediate-range and long-range ballistic missiles" and "put his negotiating team back in the game". He said fresh talks were still possible."You know, lots of countries posture before they come to the table," Pompeo told Fox News.While the message is very clearly directed at Seoul, it does send signals to Washington as well, said Jenny Town, managing editor at 38 North, a project that studies North Korea."On some level, this is like North Korea's version of maximum pressure on South Korea and the United States."
Japan warns on Saturday that the new North Korean projectiles have trajectories that are not typical for conventional ballistic missiles, making them difficult or impossible to intercept en route to Japan.