Pyongyang Claims It Successfully Tested Intermediate Ballistic Missile

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Sunday, at 5:28 a.m. local time (20:28 GMT on Saturday) North Korea launched a missile in the vicinity of Kusong, North Pyongan province. It fell in the Sea of Japan after flying some 500 miles. The launch has already been criticized by a number of countries, such as the United States and South Korea.

According to the Yonhap News Agency, Pyongyang said it had launched the Hwasong-12 missile, which had reached an altitude of 2,111 kilometers (1,311 miles) and flown 787 kilometers (489 miles).

Tensions around North Korea's activities with both nuclear and non-nuclear weapons have drastically escalated in recent months, after Pyongyang conducted a number of nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches. The international community has repeatedly accused North Korean activities citing the UNSC resolutions prohibiting Pyongyang from ballistic missile tests among other issues.