N Korea launched long-range missile days after US recon. flights

North Korea has launched a long-range ballistic missile off its east coast days after it threatened the US with "shocking" response over conducting reconnaissance flights while violating the country's airspace.

South Korea and Japan both announced that a long-range missile was fired on Wednesday at around 10 am local time  (01:00 GMT) from the Korean Peninsula hundreds of kilometers into the sea east of the land as the US-led NATO military alliance members took part in a Summit in Lithuania along with their Asia-Pacific allies.

"The ballistic missile was fired on a lofted trajectory and flew 1,000 km before splashing down in the East Sea," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) declared, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

North Korea has carried out numerous missile tests in response to persisting joint war games by US and South Korean military forces near its territorial waters. This year, it launched its first-ever solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and tried to put its first reconnaissance satellite into orbit, though the mission ended in failure.

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Seoul's JCS described the Wednesday's launch as "a grave provocation that damages the peace and security of the Korean peninsula," calling on Pyongyang to halt its nuclear and missile development programs.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters it flew for about 74 minutes, reaching an altitude of 6,000 km.

The country's coast guard confirmed that the missile fell into the sea east of the Korean peninsula.

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The missile launch came ahead of the second day of a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who are taking part inthe summit, are scheduled to meet up with one another as well as other NATO leaders on the sidelines of the event on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, China has warned the West and its regional allies against the idea of establishing an “Asia-Pacific version of NATO.”

Beijing made clear its opposition to any foreign military involvement in the East as Kim Yo-jong, Pyongyang’s senior foreign policy official and the sister of national leader Kim Jong-un, promised “clear and resolute” repercussions against Washington.

She condemned a United States plan to deploy a nuclear missile submarine to waters near the Korean peninsula and threatened to shoot down spy planes after saying US reconnaissance planes recently violated North Korea's economic air space, saying fighter jets were scrambled to ward off an American warplane that was detected inside the North's 200-nautical-mile economic zone.

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A spokesperson for the North Korean Ministry of National Defense said the United States had "intensified espionage activities beyond the wartime level", citing "provocative" spy plane flights over eight straight days this month.

"There is no guarantee that such shocking accident as downing of the US Air Force strategic reconnaissance plane will not happen in the East Sea of Korea," the spokesperson added.

In related news, Japan's Matsuno stated that Tokyo will respond to North Korea's missiles in what he described as close cooperation with the international community.

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