South Korean Defense Minister Says to Discuss N Korea Crisis During Visit to US

TOKYO (Sputnik) — South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo said on Tuesday that he was departing for the United States in order to discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula with US Defense Secretary James Mattis and other top US military officials after Pyongyang launched yet another ballistic missile.

Earlier in the day, Pyongyang held a ballistic missile test. Tokyo said after the launch that the missile had flown over Japan's northern island of Hokkaido and had fallen 1,180 kilometers (733 miles) east of the island into the Pacific Ocean. According to South Korean media, which cites the country's military, Pyongyang’s ballistic missile flew 2,700 kilometers and reached a maximum height of 550 kilometers.

"I will discuss prospects of reacting [to missile tests] with US Secretary of Defense and US National Security Adviser [H. R. McMaster] in White House," Song said, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency.

The South Korean official will also meet with Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., a commander of US Pacific Command (USPACOM) and with Adm. Scott H. Swift, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet, according to the agency.

South Korean military experts concluded that the missile was a medium-range ballistic missile, local media reported, citing South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

For the first time in years a North Korean missile has flown over Japanese territory. The Japanese military said that three stages had separated off Pyongyang's ballistic missile which was likely to be Hwasong-12. No damage to Japanese aircraft or sea vessels has been recorded. The J-Alert nationwide warning system went off in Japan over Pyongyang's missile launch.