North Korea fires suspected long-range missile, Seoul says

North Korea on Monday fired a long-range ballistic missile into the sea, Reuters and Yonhap news agencies reported, citing the South Korean military. 

It came just a few hours after Pyongyang had fired a short-range missile. 

The consecutive missile launches followed a warning from the US and South Korea which threatened North Korea's end if it used nuclear weapons.

The test fire was conducted from an area near the capital Pyongyang toward the sea off the North's east coast, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

Japan's coast guard also said that the missile appeared to be fired from North Korea and fell into the sea west of Hokkaido about an hour after launch.

Missile range could cover US

In a statement, South Korea's military said that the missile flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) before landing in the sea. It said the missile was launched on an elevated angle, apparently to avoid neighboring countries.

Meanwhile, Japan's Defense Ministry said that the missile's flying range was large enough to cover the whole of the US. 

"The ICBM-class ballistic missile launched this time, if calculated based on the trajectory, depending on weight of warhead, could have a flying range of over 15,000 kilometers. In which case the whole of the US territory would be within the range," Japan's Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Defense Shingo Miyake said.

It is suspected that the international airport serving Pyongyang is where the missile assembly takes place in North Korea.

US and allies react to North Korea's missile launch

Monday's long-range missile was North Korea's second launch in less than 12 hours. It had fired a short-range ballistic missile on Sunday night, which flew about 570 km (350 miles) from an area near Pyongyang and then fell into the sea.

Following the launch of the long-range missile, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the launches are "not only a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions but also a threat to peace and stability of the region and we strongly condemn (them)."

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol has called for strengthening the joint nuclear deterrence with US against North Korea. Meanwhile, the US has reiterated its commitment to defend its allies in East Asia. 

China reaffirms support for North Korea

As condemnations kept coming in from US and its allies, China on Monday expressed its "firm support" and trust in the relations between the two countries.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi held high-level talks with a North Korean vice foreign minister in Beijing which coincided with Pyongyan's launch of missile.

Following the missile launch on Sunday, Pyongyang had released a scathing statement against Washington alleging that the US was responsible for what it called a "preview of a nuclear war," including the arrival of a nuclear-powered submarine in South Korea on Sunday.

Pyongyang also criticized Washington's move to include nuclear contingencies in their joint drills, describing it as an open threat to potentially use nuclear weapons against the North. It vowed to prepare unspecified "offensive countermeasures."

mfi/wd (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)