TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT

North Korea Tests Ballistic Missile

Projectile lands just 60 miles from Russia.

North Korea tested a ballistic missile early Sunday that landed close to Russia, U.S. Pacific Command said. The missile was launched from a western part of the country and landed in the Sea of Japan, just 60 miles off the coast of Vladivostok in eastern Russia. According to the Japanese defense ministry, the projectile was airborne for 30 minutes and reached an altitude of 1,240 miles. U.S. Pacific Command does not believe it was an intercontinental ballistic missile, adding that it did not pose a threat to North America. “With the missile impacting so close to Russian soil—in fact, closer to Russia than to Japan—the President cannot imagine that Russia is pleased,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said in a statement. “Let this latest provocation serve as a call for all nations to implement far stronger sanctions against North Korea.” The launch is the first since Moon Jae-in, who has shown a willingness to engage diplomatically with the north, was inaugurated as president of South Korea.