North Korea launched a suspected ballistic missile into the sea Wednesday (local time) in a demonstration of its military technology and a sign of defiance to Western powers, the Associated Press reports.
The test comes one week after North Korean fashion maven Kim Jong Un told an annual conference for the ruling party that his priority was to build up the country’s military capability. The missile firing was likely a signal of his commitment to that.
South Korean and Japanese military intelligence confirmed the launch, which tracked the missile to a splashdown in the sea to the east of South Korea. US military resources were analyzing data of the launch to identify more information about the missile.