North Korea fires missile as US and South Korea prepare for exercises

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea’s missile during a news programme in Seoul (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

North Korea on Saturday fired a long-range missile from its capital into the sea off Japan, according to its neighbours, a day after it threatened to take strong measures against South Korea and the US over their joint military exercises.

According to the South Korean and Japanese militaries, the missile was fired at a high angle, apparently to avoid reaching the neighbours’ territories, and travelled about 560 miles during an hour-long flight.