(Updated at 3:50 p.m. on May 4, 2022 with NSC statement condemning the launch)

North Korea launched a missile from the Pyongyang area on Wednesday afternoon, NK News understands, just days before South Korean president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s inauguration.

A photo of the launch seen by NK News showed a white plume of smoke fading into a blue sky, with a vertical trajectory. The sound of the missile grew quieter as it flew higher, NK News has learned, unlike during a failed test above the capital city on March 16.

“We strongly condemn North Korea’s