North Korea test fires suspected intermediate-range missile

North Korea test fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile over waters off its east coast Tuesday, according to South Korea’s military.

According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the missile was launched from an area close to North Korea’s capital Pyongyang, The Associated Press reported. From there, it went about 372 miles before landing in the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

The spokesperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Lee Sung Joon, said the launch probably was meant to follow an earlier test from March of a solid-fuel engine made for a new intermediate-range hypersonic missile North Korea has been working on, according to the AP.

Experts say if the North Koreans can get the missile right, it has a chance of reaching the U.S. Pacific military hub of Guam and further.

Japan’s Defense Ministry said in a news release that North Korea launched a ballistic missile early Tuesday morning, which went more than 400 miles and reached an altitude of about 62 miles before touching down in the Sea of Japan.

In its account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Japan’s Defense Ministry said its head, Minoru Kihara, met Tuesday with Gen. Charles Flynn, commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific, and discussed “regional affairs including [North Korea’s] ballistic missile launch and measures to enhance the Alliance capabilities to deter and respond.”

Last month, North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un ordered his troops to get ready for war during an exercise, as the U.S. and South Korea were finishing their own large-scale military exercises.