North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile above its eastern waters on Thursday, drawing condemnation from the U.S. and its allies.
Driving the news: The launch of the ICBM, which was accompanied by the firing of two short-range ballistic missiles, triggered alarms in Japan after setting off the country's emergency alert system, AP reported.
- North Korea also fired an additional three short-range missiles into waters off its eastern coast, South Korea and Japan said.
- In total, it fired at least six missiles into the sea.
State of play: The ICBM's launch appeared to have failed, judging by the speed and altitude of shown on its flight data, the New York Times reported, citing an unnamed South Korean Defense official.
- "The United States strongly condemns the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for its test of an Intercontinental ballistic missile," National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
- "This launch, in addition to the launch of multiple other ballistic missiles this week, is a flagrant violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions and needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region," Watson added.
- Kishida condemned North Korea's "repeated missile launches," which he called an "outrage," the BBC reported.
- In response to the launches, the U.S. and South Korea agreed to extend large-scale air force exercises that started earlier this week to an unknown date, according to CNN.
The big picture: The launches come a day after North Korea fired 23 missiles — the most it has ever tested in a single day.
- Thursday's launches are the latest escalation in a spate of missile tests in recent weeks by North Korea, including launching a missile over Japan last month and firing a ballistic missile toward South Korea a day before Vice President Kamala Harris was set to arrive.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
