This picture from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) taken on August 29, 2017 and released on August 30, 2017 shows North Korea's intermediate-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 lifting off from the launching pad at an SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea launched a ballistic missile into the sea on Sunday, its neighbors said, in a resumption of weapons tests following a monthlong hiatus and as the United States and its allies are focused on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.The North Korean launch was the eighth of its kind this year and the first since Jan.
30. Some experts have said North Korea is trying to perfect its weapons technology and pressure the United States into offering concessions like sanctions relief amid long-stalled disarmament talks.
They say North Korea also might use the U.S. preoccupation with the Ukraine conflict as a chance to accelerate testing activity to ramp up its pressure campaign on Washington.Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said the North Korean missile flew about 300 kilometers (190 miles) at a maximum altitude of about 600 kilometers (370 miles) before landing off North Korea’s eastern coast and outside Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
No damage to vessels or aircraft has been reported, he said."If North Korea deliberately carried out the missile launch while the international community is distracted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, such an act is absolutely unforgivable," he told reporters.