North Korea launched a possible ballistic missile late Wednesday, Japan’s defense ministry announced shortly before midnight.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency also reported that North Korea launched the missile toward the East Sea (Sea of Japan), citing Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), but the military had yet to provide further details about the projectile as of 12:02 a.m. KST.
Japan’s defense ministry subsequently reported at 12:01 a.m. that the missile appeared to have splashed down, but did not provide additional information. While the exact launch time is unknown, the apparently brief flight time likely points to a short-range capability.