North Korea missile launch

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"North Korea missile rose more than 2,000 kilometers in altitude: Japan defense minister" - http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-inada-idUSKBN18A00V

A missile fired by North Korea on Sunday morning reached an altitude of more than 2,000 kilometers (1,245 miles) and could be a new type of a missile, Japan's Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said.

Inada also said the missile is estimated to have fallen in the Sea of Japan about 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the east coast of North Korea.

"North Korea fires missile days after new South Korea leader pledges dialogue" - http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-idUSKBN1890UO

North Korea fired a ballistic missile early on Sunday that flew 700 kilometers (430 miles), South Korea's military said, days after a new leader took office in the South pledging to engage in dialogue with Pyongyang.

The missile was fired from the region of Kusong, northwest of Pyongyang, where the North in February successfully test-launched an intermediate-range missile that it is believed to be developing.

Japan said the latest missile reached an altitude of more than 2,000 km (1,245 miles) and flew for 30 minutes before dropping into the sea between North Korea's east coast and Japan. The North has consistently test-fired missiles in that direction.

Sunday's launch, at 5:27 a.m. Seoul time (4:27 p.m. ET), came two weeks after North Korea fired a missile that disintegrated minutes into flight, marking its fourth consecutive failure since March.

The U.S. Pacific Command said it was assessing the type of missile but it was "not consistent with an intercontinental ballistic missile".

"U.S. Pacific Command is fully committed to working closely with our Republic of Korea and Japanese allies to maintain security," a spokesperson said, referring to South Korea by its official name.