North launches possible long-range missile: South's JCS

North Korea on Thursday morning fired a long-range ballistic missile into the East Sea, according to South Korean military officials.

National Security Director Cho Tae-yong presides over a meeting of the presidential National Security Council in Yongsan District, central Seoul on Thursday, following the launch of a suspected long-range ballistic missile by North Korea earlier. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

North Korea fired a long-range ballistic missile into the East Sea on Thursday, according to South Korean military officials. Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters that it detected the launch of a medium or longer-range ballistic missile near Pyongyang at 7:23 a.m.

The missile was fired at on a lofted or high-angle trajectory and flew approximately 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) before splashing down in the East Sea, the JCS said.

A defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity said military analysis of the missile's altitude and flight path indicated it was likely a new weapons system — possibly a solid-fuel ballistic missile previously exhibited at the regime's last major military parade on Feb. 8.

The JCS added that South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies are conducting detailed analyses of the missile and "maintaining utmost readiness" through close cooperation.

The missile launch initially prompted the Japanese government to issue an emergency evacuation warning to residents of the northern island of Hokkaido.

The warning was lifted after the missile disappeared from the country's radar and analysis determined it would not land on Japanese territory, according to Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno at a Thursday press conference.

The launch came on the seventh consecutive day that the North has not responded to South Korean attempts to establish communication via the inter-Korean liaison line and military hotline.

A U.S. Lockheed U-2S Dragon Lady high altitude reconnaissance aircraft lands at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on Thursday. [YONHAP]

The North on April 7 abruptly stopped responding to regular calls with the South that usually take place at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.

The South's presidential National Security Council called the launch "a grave violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a serious provocation heightening tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in the region" in a press release Thursday.

Officials in Seoul also said Kim Gunn, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, held telephone conversations with U.S. and Japanese counterparts Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi soon after the North Korean missile launch and vowed "a strong response to any provocation" by the North.

Washington blasted Pyongyang's latest ballistic missile launch as "a brazen violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions" that "needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region" in a statement released Wednesday by U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson.

"This action demonstrates that the DPRK continues to prioritize its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs over the well-being of its people," Watson said, referring to the North by the acronym for its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The spokesperson also said U.S. President Joe Biden and his national security team are assessing the situation with U.S. allies and partners.

"The United States will take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the American homeland and Republic of Korea and Japanese allies," Watson's statement said.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]