Article content continued

One appeared to explode shortly after launch, they said.

But the other appeared to have flown over the peninsula and, some 12 minutes later, to have landed 620 miles away in the waters off the Akita prefecture.

If confirmed, this would constitute the first time a North Korean missile had landed within the exclusive economic zone on the Sea of Japan side of the island chain. In 1998, North Korea fired a Taepodong-1 missile over Japan and into its EEZ on the Pacific Ocean side.

Wednesday’s actions were the latest apparent protest from North Korea over a decision by Seoul and Washington to bring an anti-missile battery system to South Korea.

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, aimed at intercepting North Korea missiles, is set to be deployed near the rural area of Seongju, some 200 miles southeast of Seoul, by the end of next year. The plan is controversial among residents in the area, many of whom fear they will become a target for North Korea.

Pyongyang has called the THAAD battery “vicious warmongering” and has threatened a nuclear strike against the site.

Meanwhile, China views the deployment as a thinly disguised attempt to keep it in check. Beijing seized on Wednesday’s launch as further proof that the United States’ plan to deploy the system was causing instability in the region.

“South Korea is putting the cart before the horse in their pursuit of national security, as the key to security lies in good neighbourly and friendly relations with its neighbours, rather than a bunch of U.S.-made missiles,” the Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua said in a commentary.