A file picture shows North Korea's missile launch in February. [Yonhap News Photo]
The projectile appeared to be a KN-15 medium-range ballistic missile also known as Pukguksong-2, the South's joint chiefs of staff (JCS) said, adding it was assessed as a calculated launch aimed at testing missile technology or sending a message ahead of talks between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
The missile, launched at around 6:42 am (2142 GMT) near Sinpo which has a shipyard for a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) program, flew about 60 kilometers (36 miles) after reaching the height of 189 kilometers, the JCS said.
In February, North Korea claimed to have successfully launched a Pukguksong-2 missile with an improved solid fuel engine capable of carrying a nuclear warhead more accurately from any place. At the time, Pyongyang's state media said Pukguksong-2 was based on the test of an SLBM in August last year.
The North's SLBM program has been a prime security concern in Seoul and Washington, though US experts believe Pyongyang is still years away from the operational deployment of a submarine carrying ballistic missile for wartime missions.
The missile exercise this week followed North Korea's failed launch on March 22 near the eastern port city of Wonsan. 38 North, the website of a US research institute, suggested it was the failed test of a Musudan missile with an estimated range of more than 3,000 kilometers. Pyongyang has tested a series of Musudans in an effort to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has vowed to launch more rockets capable of carrying nuclear warheads, claiming Pyongyang has acquired re-entry technology, despite doubts about its ability to miniaturize a nuclear warhead to be mounted on an ICBM.
Trump has vowed to stop Pyongyang from mastering ICBM capabilities. In a recent warning, he threatened to take "unilateral" action against the North's military threats unless China does its part.
Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
![[UPDATES] US, S. Korea detect N. Koreas failed Musudan missile launch](https://image.ajunews.com/content/image/2016/10/20/20161020111258638382.jpg)