North Korea fires suspected ICBM, triggering evacuation warnings in Japan

It is Pyongyang’s seventh ICBM launch this year

North Korea launched a suspected new type of banned intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) among its latest three missile tests, forcing Japan to issue evacuation alerts and halt trains.

This was Pyongyang’s seventh suspected ICBM launch this year, a day after the hermit kingdom hit the alarming milestone of firing a record 23 missiles, the most it has fired in a day.

On Thursday, North Korea fired an ICBM from an area near the capital Pyongyang at around 7.40am local time. This was followed by launches of two short-range ballistic missiles an hour later, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.