North Korea fires suspected long-range ballistic missile, 12th this year

South Korea and Japan said on Wednesday (July 12) that North Korea has fired a ballistic missile, which is said to be its 12th this year.

This comes amid fierce claims and counterclaims over US "spy" planes "violating" North Korean airspace. The South Korean military said it was a long-range missile.

Referring to the body of water, also known as the Sea of Japan, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, "North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile into the East Sea."

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Japan's coast guard noted that the missile seemed to land outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, roughly 550 kilometres east of the Korean peninsula at around 11:13 am local time (0213 GMT).

Meanwhile, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the military "detected what was presumed to be a long-range ballistic missile shot from the Pyongyang area around 1000 (0100 GMT) toward the East Sea".

So far this year, North Korea has successfully test-fired its first solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and attempted to launch its first spy satellite on a new launch vehicle.

Notably, UN Security Council resolutions prohibit North Korea from using ballistic missile technology, including for satellite launches.

Claims over US spy planes

The US and North Korea have been engaged in a fiery altercation over claims of US spy planes, with Pyongyang on Monday condemning Washington's plans to deploy a nuclear missile submarine near the Korean peninsula.

A spokesperson for the North Korean Ministry of National Defence said the United States had "intensified espionage activities beyond the wartime level", citing "provocative" spy plane flights for eight straight days this month.

The statement, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), said one reconnaissance plane intruded into North Korean airspace over the East Sea "several times".

"There is no guarantee that such a shocking accident as the downing of the US Air Force strategic reconnaissance plane will not happen in the East Sea of Korea," the spokesperson added.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, issued a warning to the US after Pyongyang said that it scrambled warplanes to ward off an American spy plane that had intruded into its exclusive economic zone.

Kim's sister said, "The intrusion into the DPRK's 200-nautical mile economic water zone by the reconnaissance asset of the hostile country…is clearly a grave encroachment upon the sovereignty and security of the DPRK."

She added that "a shocking incident would occur in the long run in the 20-40 section in which the US spy planes habitually intrude into the sky above the economic water zone" of North Korea.

(With inputs from agencies)

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