N. Korea Fires Ballistic Missile toward Sea of Japan

Seoul, Nov. 9 (Jiji Press)--North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan Wednesday afternoon, South Korea's military said, as the vote-counting is underway in U.S. midterm elections.

The missile was fired from the Sukchon area in western North Korea at around 3:31 p.m. Japan time (6:31 a.m. GMT). It is believed to have dropped outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, the Japanese Defense ministry said.

It was the first ballistic missile launch by North Korea since Saturday.

The missile reached a maximum altitude of under 50 kilometers and traveled about 250 kilometers, according to the Japanese ministry. There have been no reports of damage to ships and others from the missile.

The South Korean military said the missile traveled about 290 kilometers at a maximum altitude of about 30 kilometers and a speed of Mach 6.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]