China rejects accusations in Japan defense report

The U.S. Strategic Command said the North had actually fired two missiles simultaneously on Wednesday and that one exploded immediately after launch.

Meanwhile, North Korea is developing a long-range missile that can reach the continental US.

Japan has also condemned and lodged an official protest with Pyongyang against the missile launch, saying the launch was in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions. He added that the missile appeared to have been a medium-range Rodong.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was launched about 7:50 a.m. (6:50 p.m. ET Tuesday), South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported.

“The missile landed within Japan’s exclusive economic zone”.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan called North Korea’s nuclear and missile development a “grave and imminent threat” to the region and worldwide security, and criticized China’s increasingly assertive military action as “dangerous” in its annual defense report. Additionally, Pyongyang reacted sharply to the United States’ decision to list Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, under new sanctions.

China commissioned its first aircraft carrier Liaoning in September 2012 and launched a specially designed J-15 fighter jets to operate from its deck. The U.S. military has thousands of personnel stationed in Japan.

The request was endorsed by council members Britain, France, Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal, Spain, Ukraine and Uruguay, while China, North Korea’s only ally, and Russian Federation did not back the request.

The launch comes after South Korea and the United States announced the deployment of a US -made missile defense system known as THAAD.

“We call on North Korea to refrain from actions and rhetoric that further raise tensions in the region and to focus instead on taking concrete steps toward fulfilling its commitments and global obligations and commitments”, Richey-Allen said.

North Korea had on July 19 fired three ballistic missiles that flew 300-360 miles (500-600km) into the sea off its east coast. The North called these tests to simulate preemptive strikes on South Korean ports, airfields, and US bases in the country.

The North has ceaselessly developed its nuclear and missile programs by launching more than 30 ballistic missiles so far this year.