North Korea tests missile right before Japan - South Korea summit

Missile shooter to show military might by North Korea

North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday, just hours before the leaders of South Korea and Japan were to meet in Tokyo for a summit that was expected to be overshadowed by North Korean nuclear threats.

The launch is the North's first ICBM test in a month and the third weapons test this week, as South Korean and US troops continue joint military exercises that Pyongyang regards as a dress rehearsal for an invasion.

The North Korean ICBM flew towards the Korean Peninsula's eastern waters after being launched from Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, around 7.10 a.m., according to South Korea's military. The South Korean military, according to the statement, is maintaining readiness in close coordination with the US. 

The Sunan neighbourhood is home to Pyongyang's international airport and has emerged as a major testing site, where the North has launched the majority of its intercontinental ballistic missiles in recent years, all of which have been flown at a high angle to avoid neighboring countries' territory.

After an hour-long flight, the missile most likely landed in waters outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, according to Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada. The landing site is about 250 kilometers (155 miles) off the western island of Oshimaoshima, close to where other North Korean ICBMs have crashed after test flights in recent months. 

The launch occurred just hours before South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was scheduled to travel to Tokyo for a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida aimed at mending strained ties and strengthening trilateral security cooperation with the US to counter North Korean threats.

The U.S.-South Korean drills that began Monday and are scheduled to continue until March 23 include computer simulations and live-fire field exercises.