National Security Council convenes over N.Korea’s ICBM launch

President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a meeting of the National Security Council at the presidential office in Seoul on Thursday to discuss countermeasures against North Korea`s firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the East Sea.(Yonhap)

The presidential office has convened a National Security Council meeting after North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday morning in the run-up to the summit between South Korean and Japanese leaders.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attended the meeting and was briefed on the ICBM launch by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Kim Seung-kyum, the South Korean presidential office said in a statement.

Yoon ordered countermeasures to North Korea’s ICBM launch at the meeting before departing for Tokyo on Thursday morning for his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

North Korea fired a long-range missile from the area of Sunan district in the capital city of Pyongyang toward the East Sea at around 07:10 a.m. local time, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The ICBM followed a lofted trajectory and traveled around 1,000 kilometers before falling into the East Sea, the JCS said, adding that the South Korean and the US intelligence authorities have been analyzing the specifications of the missiles in light of North Korea’s development of its missile systems.

Thursday marks the fourth missile launch by North Korea in eight days since March 9. The last time Pyongyang launched an ICBM was Feb. 18.

By Ji Da-gyum(dagyumji@heraldcorp.com)