Korean newspaper: North Korea launched ballistic missile near China

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said North Korea had just launched a missile near the Chinese border on the morning of July 4.

The South Korean military confirmed that Pyongyang launched a ballistic missile from a province near the Chinese border on the morning of July 4.

"North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile into the East Sea from Banghyon, North Pyongan Province, at 9:40 a.m.," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

A North Korean missile launch. Photo: NBC.

This is North Korea's 10th missile launch this year. Previously, on May 29, Pyongyang test-fired a missile from Wonsan to the east coast. The missile is said to have fallen into Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

On May 21, North Korea also launched a missile from a site near Pukchang, the area where North Korea tested a missile launch last month, but failed.

A week earlier, on May 14, North Korea successfully tested a new medium-range missile that experts say will be able to reach Alaska and Hawaii in the future. Last week’s missile launch was personally supervised by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and came shortly after South Korea elected a new leader.

North Korea has rejected calls to rein in its nuclear and missile programs, even from its only major ally, China. Pyongyang says it is acting in self-defense. North Korea claims it is working to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the United States.

On July 3, China's ambassador to the United Nations warned that countries could face "disastrous consequences" if tensions on the Korean peninsula are not resolved.

Meanwhile, Washington is gradually losing patience and has prepared military options for North Korea in case it continues to test nuclear weapons or launch ballistic missiles.

President Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire for China to do more to rein in Pyongyang. He has temporarily put aside tough measures in the hope that Beijing would put pressure on North Korea, but so far these efforts have been unsuccessful.

According to Zing