North Korea fired one “long-range ballistic missile” toward the East Sea (Sea of Japan) on Wednesday morning, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The missile was launched on a lofted trajectory from the Pyongyang area at around 10 a.m. KST and flew for around 621 miles (1,000 km) before falling into the sea, JCS said.

The Japanese military stated that the missile was launched at 9:59 a.m. and splashed down 155 miles west of Okushiri Island at around 11:13 a.m, outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The island is located in the north of Japan near Hokkaido.

This points to a flight duration of around 74 minutes, potentially making it North Korea’s longest ballistic missile flight duration. The previous longest was a modified Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that flew for 71 minutes in March 2022.

Japan also said the flight distance was around 621 miles (1,000 km) and added the missile reached a maximum altitude of over 3,728 miles (6,000 km), similar to past ICBM trajectories as well.

The launch comes after the DPRK issued multiple statements earlier in the week claiming U.S. reconnaissance planes intruded on its EEZ, threatening to shoot down the aircraft. 

It also comes as South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol attends the NATO summit in Lithuania, where he held an emergency National Security Council meeting on the launch, according to the presidential office.

“President Yoon instructed [officials] to make clear that North Korea’s illicit activities will come with a price,” his office said in a statement.

Yoon also called for further strengthening the U.S. extended deterrence through the inaugural meeting of the allies’ Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), slated for late next week in Seoul. 

“The North Korean long-range ballistic missile launch today is an act of grave provocation that damages peace and stability of not only the Korean peninsula but also the international community,” JCS said in a separate statement “strongly condemning” Pyongyang. 

Wednesday’s launch is North Korea’s first known missile launch since June 15, when it fired two short-range ballistic missiles from near Pyongyang.

The DPRK has not released photos or details of its missile launches for months, however. The last time state media publicized a launch was following its test of a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBM in April.

LAUNCH LOCATION

JCS only specified the launch took place from “somewhere in Pyongyang,” not the Sunan area where North Korea has tested liquid-fuel ICBMs from the international airport on numerous occasions, and this may mean the launch took place from a different location.

A spokesperson told reporters after the April ICBM launch that JCS intentionally left out specific location details in a public briefing so as “not to confuse” people, but that they detected the launch area as “the edge of Pyongyang to the southeast.”

State media footage of the launch confirmed the location as a new grassy launchpad — likely reinforced underneath — at the ruling Kim family’s private Jindallae Guesthouse.

NK News analysis of Planet Labs satellite imagery shows that a new dirt road that the ICBM launch vehicle used to get to the launchpad became overgrown in May but was likely restored in late June, possibly in preparation for another launch.

The activity raises the possibility that North Korea again used the grassy launchpad to launch the same missile or another ICBM, though JCS has yet to offer more details on a launch location. 

State media is likely to release photos and video of Wednesday’s launch as early as Thursday morning if authorities choose to disclose details. 

Edited by Bryan Betts