As for North Korea's latest missile launch.... multiple sources in Washington and Seoul are saying... the missile was launched from a sea-based platform... NOT a submarine.
Our Defense Ministry correspondent Kim Ji-yeon has more.
The U.S. is downplaying the significance of North Korea's missile launch... as the two countries prepare for working-level talks this weekend on the regime's denuclearization.
Speaking at a briefing on Thursday, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Spokesperson, Air Force Colonel Patrick Ryder, said the North fired the missile from a sea-based platform... not a submarine,... which would've been much more threatening to the United States... since it'll be harder to detect in advance compared to missiles fired from land.
"As we understand it, North Korea fired a short-to-medium range ballistic missile, some 280 miles into the Sea of Japan. And, what we know is that the missile was fired from a sea-based platform in the Wonsan Bay. That's about all I can provide at this point."
North Korea stated a day after the launch that it had successfully launched a new Pukguksong-3 missile.
The use of a sea-based platform or barge has been confirmed by a South Korean military source as well... pointing to a vessel located next to the launch site in the photos North Korea released of the firing.
The regime's state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported Friday that the test represents a "grave statement" to hostile forces.
It called the weapon a "time bomb"... that could be fired anywhere on the open sea... implying it was launched from a submarine.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.