North Korea test fires what South says may have been ICBM

Seoul, South Korea — North Korea fired at least one suspected ballistic missile toward the sea Thursday, its neighbors' militaries said, apparently extending its barrage of weapons tests that may now include a flight of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The Reuters news service cites South Korea's Yonhap news agency as saying the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff assumed the projectile was a long-range missile, possibly an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) directed on a "lofted" trajectory.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff didn't say how far it flew. Japan's Prime Minister's Office Defense Ministry said the launch possibly involved a ballistic missile while its coast guard issued a warning for vessels passing nearby waters.