North Korea fired a long-range missile ahead of the Japan-South Korea summit

Only hours before the leaders of South Korea and Japan were scheduled to meet for historic negotiations, North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Officials from Japan and South Korea concurred that the long-range missile was launched on Thursday morning. It traveled 620 miles or nearly 1,000 km before landing in waters west of Japan.

The US and South Korea are conducting joint navy maneuvers at the same time as Pyongyang's fourth missile launch in a week.

The additional missiles that were launched on Thursday, Saturday, and Monday were short-range ballistic missiles.

At their first meeting in 12 years, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will likely discuss North Korea's stepped-up missile activities in Tokyo later on Thursday.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea reported to AFP that "our military detected one long-range ballistic missile fired from about the Sunan area in Pyongyang." They identified the missile as an ICBM-class missile.

Reporters were informed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that he will meet with ministers from the National Security Council.
"Peace and stability in the region is a very important issue," Kishida added.