SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The Latest on North Korea’s missile test (all times local):
9 a.m.
North Korea has confirmed details of its latest missile launch.
The official Korean Central News Agency said Monday morning that the military had tested a medium-to-long range ballistic missile called the Pukguksong-2.
KCNA said that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the launch and watched from an observation post.
South Korea and the U.S. earlier described Sunday’s missile as medium-range. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it flew eastward about 500 kilometers, or 310 miles.
KCNA said the purpose of the test was to verify technical indexes of the weapon system and examine its adaptability under various battle conditions before deployment to military units for action.
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4 a.m.
Diplomats say the United Nations Security Council plans to hold urgent consultations on the latest North Korea missile test.
The council diplomats say the closed discussion was requested by the United States, Japan and South Korea and will take place Tuesday. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting has not been officially announced.
U.S. and South Korean officials say North Korea fired a medium-range missile Sunday that appears to be similar to one the country tested earlier this year.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff says the rocket flew eastward about 500 kilometers (310 miles). The U.S. military tracked the missile before it fell into the sea.
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11:35 p.m.
U.S. and South Korean officials say North Korea has fired a medium-range missile, the latest ballistics test by a country speeding up its development of nuclear weapons and missiles.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff says the rocket was fired Sunday from an area near the North Korean county of Pukchang and flew eastward about 500 kilometers, or 310 miles. The U.S. Pacific Command says it tracked the missile before it landed in the sea.
White House officials traveling in Saudi Arabia with President Donald Trump said the system that was tested, which was last launched in February, had a shorter range than the missiles fired in North Korea’s most recent tests.
The latest launch comes a week after North Korea successfully tested a new midrange missile that it said could carry a heavy nuclear warhead.
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