NORTH Korea fired a stealth ballistic missile in what has been branded a “grave provocation” as it sparked a mass evacuation in Japan.
It is thought Kim Jong-un was test launching a new type of more mobile, harder-to-detect weapons system.
South Korea‘s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was launched from a high angle near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.
It then fell into the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan following a 1,000km flight.
A South Korean military official said the test apparently involved a new weapons system displayed at recent North Korean military parades.
If the launch involved a solid-fuel ICBM, it would be the North’s first test of such a weapon.
North Korea’s known ICBMs all use liquid propellant systems that require them to be fueled before launches.
But the fuel in a solid propellant weapon is already loaded inside, allowing them to be moved more easily and fired more quickly.
North Korea has been working to build more solid-fuel missiles, which are easier to store and transport, and can be launched with almost no warning or preparation time.
A solid-propellant ICBM is one of the key high-tech weapons that Kim Jong-un has vowed to build to better cope with what he calls US military threats.
Other weapons he wants to acquire are a multiwarhead missile, a nuclear-powered submarine, a hypersonic missile and a spy satellite.
South Korea’s military said it was on high alert following the test, which it called a “grave provocation”, and coordinating closely with its main ally, the US.
The launch on Thursday prompted Japan to issue an evacuation order on a northern island.
It read: “Immediately evacuate inside the building or underground.
“The missile is expected to fall around Hokkaido around 08:00.”
Schools in Hokkaido delayed their opening times and some train services were suspended, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.
The order was later retracted, however.
Last month, North Korea claimed to have tested its new nuclear underwater attack drone designed to unleash a “radioactive tsunami”.
Meanwhile, the US last week deployed a fleet of nuclear bombers and fighter jets over North Korea in a chilling warning to Kim.
The formidable B-52 bombers flew to the Korean Peninsula in a show of strength after the dictator vowed to “plunge his rivals into despair.”
The US long-range planes took part in joint aerial drills with South Korean fighter jets on April 5.
It was the first deployment of the B-52 bombers to the peninsula in a month, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said.
They can be fitted with nuclear-able cruise missiles and precision air-to-surface rockets, as well as carrying more than 30 tonnes of bombs.
The drills were a direct jab at brutal tyrant Kim, amid fears that North Korea might conduct its first nuclear test since 2017.
Satellite pictures recently showed fresh activity at the North’s main nuclear complex.