North Korea missile lands near Japanese waters

A medium-range ballistic missile fired from North Korea landed near Japanese territorial waters.

A suspected Rodong missile was fired on Wednesday from the North's western Hwanghae province, the governments said.

Japan's defence ministry said the missile landed inside Japan's exclusive economic zone. Tokyo has sovereign rights over the  200-nautical-mile offshore area and its resources.

"It imposes a serious threat to Japan's security and it is unforgivable act of violence toward Japan's security," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.

According to the US Strategic Command, North Korea fired two presumed Rodong missiles simultaneously. One of the missiles, it said in a statement, exploded immediately after launch, while a second was tracked over North Korea and into the Sea of Japan.

In July, North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea. The rockets carried trigger devices for nuclear warheads as part of simulated pre-emptive atomic attacks on South Korea, North Korean authorities confirmed.

North Korea is pushing to manufacture a warhead small enough to be placed on a long-range missile that can reach the continental US, but South Korean defence officials say the North doesn't yet have such a miniaturised warhead.