|
The projectile
was fired from a region near the North's east coast, a South
Korean military official said by telephone.
It was a short-range surface to air missile, another official at
the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding the
military was trying to determine the range.
The launch at around 12:45 p.m. local time comes hours after
U.S. President Barack Obama joined South Korean President Park
Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowing to add
pressure on the North for its recent activities.
Meeting on the sidelines of a global nuclear security summit in
Washington, the three leaders recommitted their countries to
each others' defense and warned they could take further steps to
counter threats from Pyongyang.
Obama held separate talks with President Xi Jinping of China,
the closest North Korea has to an ally, and said they both
wanted to see "full implementation" of the latest U.N. sanctions
against Pyongyang. But Xi offered no sign that Beijing was
prepared to go beyond its consent to the Security Council
measures imposed in early March.
The North has fired a string of rockets in recent weeks
including a long-range rocket in February that launched an
object in space. Leader Kim Jong Un has supervised some of the
launches in defiance of U.N. sanctions.
North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6, leading
to new Security Council sanctions in early March. South Korea
and the United States have imposed separate sanctions.
Earlier on Friday, South Korea said North Korea has been sending
signals to disrupt GPS reception in the South, leading some
shipping vessels to return to port.
(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Writing by Jack Kim; Editing by Simon
Cameron-Moore)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
|
