North Korea test was of short- to medium-range ballistic missile: Pentagon

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon said on Thursday that a recent North Korean missile test was short- to a medium-range ballistic missile that was fired from a sea-based platform.

Colonel Patrick Ryder, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters during a press conference that the missile flew about 280 miles (450 km) into the sea.

During the same briefing, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and his Japanese counterpart agreed in a call on Thursday that North Korean tests are “unnecessarily provocative and do not set the stage for diplomacy.”

North Korea fired what appeared to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile, Seoul had said Wednesday.

Pyongyang frequently couples diplomatic overtures with military moves, as a way of maintaining pressure on negotiating partners, analysts say, and may believe this weapons system gives it added leverage.

The United States voiced alarm, with a State Department spokesperson calling on North Korea “to refrain from provocations” and “remain engaged in substantive and sustained negotiations” aimed at bringing stability and denuclearisation.

A proven submarine-based missile capability would take the North’s arsenal to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a second-strike capability in the event of an attack on its military bases.