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Details of the launch were being analyzed by South Korean and
U.S. intelligence authorities, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of
Staff said in a statement.
It was the latest in a series of missile tests and military
exercises conducted by the North in recent weeks including a
failed spy satellite launch late last month, prompting fresh
criticism from the country's major political parties.
"It's an act of hostility that threatens the peace on the Korean
peninsula," a spokesperson for the ruling People Power Party
said.
In a statement carried by state media KCNA, North Korea's
foreign ministry accused Japan of raising tensions in the region
by developing long-range missiles, but there was no mention of
the missile launch.
Japan and the United States are expected to soon agree on
jointly developing an interceptor missile to counter hypersonic
warheads being developed by China, Russia and North Korea,
Japan's Yomiuri newspaper reported last month.
Seoul announced sanctions on Friday on five North Korean
individuals and one company in response to Pyongyang's launch of
what it said was a space rocket last month.
On Thursday state media KCNA reported that Pyongyang had
conducted a simulated "scorched-earth" nuclear strike on targets
across South Korea, drawing criticism from Seoul.
The joint annual summertime exercises between South Korea and
the U.S. known as the Ulchi Freedom Shield came to a close on
Thursday after an 11-day run featuring air drills with B-1B
bombers.
North Korea protested the deployment of the U.S. strategic
bombers by firing two ballistic missiles just hours later in
retaliation.
Pyongyang has long denounced the drills as a rehearsal for war.
(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; editing by Jonathan Oatis, Sandra
Maler and Miral Fahmy)
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