North Korea fires ‘unidentified projectile’ into Sea of Japan

South Korea’s military said that the missiles were not intercontinental ballistic missiles, which have the capability to reach the U.S. Several missiles landed only in waters only 190 miles away from Japan, according to the country’s defense minister Tomomi Inada.

Although experts had failed to exactly identify the type of missile launched, at least one of them was thought to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) – a weapon that could theoretically reached the U.S. mainland.

There were fears initially that the projectiles were intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), which are capable of reaching the west of the United States mainland if launched at a high angle.

The launches are seen as a reaction by North Korea to joint U.S.

Although that particular attempt in North Korea failed, The New York Times reports that Pyongyang’s missile tests have failed at significant rates since Obama instructed the Pentagon to ramp up its cyberattacks in early 2014.

The missiles were launched from the Tongchang-ri region of North Korea’s North Pyongan Province.

More recently, Pyongyang has been bristling over ongoing joint military drills involving South Korea and the U.S.

US stocks have climbed to all-time records, with the Dow piercing the 21,000 mark last week for the first time and the benchmark S&P 500 rising 11.4 percent since Trump’s election last November.

The North’s repeated launches “clearly violate UN Security Council resolutions”, he said.

Japan’s Prime Miniister Shinzo Abe has condemned the test.

Trump said: “I just want everybody to understand and fully know that the United States of America stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100 percent”.

The two countries say the drills test their defensive readiness against possible aggression, but the North criticises them, calling them a preparation for invasion.

In his New Year address, leader Kim Jong-Un said that Pyongyang was in the “final stages” of developing an ICBM.

The mood has soured, especially after the North test-fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile, the Pukguksong 2, last month.

“It is long past time for Washington to do the right thing and belatedly acknowledge that North Korea’s repeated deadly acts legally constitute terrorist acts and justify returning the regime to the state sponsors of terrorism list”, agreed Heritage Foundation senior research fellow Bruce Klingner.