North fires another missile

North Korea yesterday test-fired a ballistic missile, the latest in a series of launches which have sparked international condemnation and threats of tougher UN sanctions.

South Korea described the launch, the second in a week and the eighth this year, as "reckless and irresponsible" while the US military stressed "ironclad commitment" to defend its allies in the region.

The missile, described by Washington as a medium-range one, was fired from Pukchang in South Pyongan province and travelled about 500 kilometres (311 miles), according to the South's armed forces.

"Our military is closely monitoring signs for additional provocation by the North Korean military and we are keeping a full military readiness," said a statement from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The launch came just one week after the North fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range missile, which according to Pyongyang flew almost 800 km and was capable of carrying a "heavy" nuclear warhead.

A White House official visiting Saudi Arabia with Trump appeared to play down yesterday's firing.

But the South's foreign ministry slammed the "reckless and irresponsible" firing as "throwing cold water on the hope and longing of the new government and the international community" for denuclearisation and peace on the Korean peninsula.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned yesterday that the United States was still in the "early stages" of applying pressure on Pyongyang, after yet another North Korean missile test in defiance of international sanctions.

In an interview with Fox News yesterday, Tillerson called the latest test "disappointing" and "disturbing," but he rejected a suggestion it was a sign that the United States's approach to the challenge posed by North Korea was not working.