North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile into Sea of Japan

Seoul, Oct. 14 (Jiji Press)--North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan early Friday morning, its eighth round of ballistic missile launches since late September, the South Korean military said.

The missile is believed to have fallen outside of Japan's exclusive economic zone, according to Japan's Defense Ministry. It was fired around 1:49 a.m. (4:49 p.m. Thursday GMT) from Pyongyang's Sunan area, the South Korean military said. No damage to aircraft or ships has been reported.

It was the 27th time Pyongyang has fired missiles this year. On Wednesday, North Korea launched long-range strategic cruise missiles that it said were deployed for tactical nuclear weapons operations.

According to the Japanese ministry, Friday's missile traveled about 650 kilometers at a maximum altitude of about 50 kilometers and may have flown on an irregular trajectory, which makes it difficult for the missile to be intercepted.

The South Korean military said the missile is estimated to have traveled some 700 kilometers at a maximum altitude of some 50 kilometers and at a top speed of about Mach 6.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]