TOKYO, September 1 (RIA Novosti) – North Korea has fired a short-range ballistic missile towards the Sea of Japan on Monday, Kyodo news agency reported, citing a statement by the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The missile was launched from near Ryongnim, 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of the North Korean border with China. It flew for 220 kilometers before falling into the Sea of Japan.
UN resolutions prohibit North Korea from launching any ballistic missiles. But North Korea justifies the tests saying that it is exercising its right of self-defense.
North Korea proclaimed itself a nuclear state in 2005. Despite international outcry, in 2006, 2009 and 2013 the country ran underground nuclear tests. The UN Security council has issued a serious of sanctions against North Korea’s nuclear program. The UN resolutions 1718 and 1814 urge Pyongyang to refrain from nuclear tests and to go back to talks on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
