North Korea test-fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile on Tuesday that flew approximately 4,500 kilometres at a maximum altitude of 970 km before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean east of Japan. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the launch, describing it as the longest-range test by Pyongyang in three years and believed to demonstrate a new solid-fuel IRBM variant capable of reaching Guam and US Pacific military facilities. Japan issued emergency evacuation alerts for Aomori and Hokkaido prefectures.
US Indo-Pacific Command condemned the launch as a destabilising act violating multiple UN Security Council resolutions. South Korea President called an emergency National Security Council meeting and ordered a live-fire exercise near the Northern Limit Line. China called for restraint from all parties and urged denuclearisation talks. North Korean state media KCNA described the test as a legitimate exercise of national self-defence rights in the face of hostile US policy.
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