NK launches missile over Japan to maximize effect of saber-rattling: spy agency

North Korea appears to have flown its latest missile over Japan to maximize the effect of its saber-rattling, Seoul's spy agency said Tuesday, warning its provocations may continue until it completes its intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missile programs.

During a parliamentary briefing, the National Intelligence Service also said that Pyongyang apparently designed the launch to hint that its earlier threat of strikes around the US territory of Guam could become a reality.

The NIS made the remarks, hours after the communist state fired off another ballistic missile from the vicinity of an airfield in Sunan in Pyongyang at around 5:57 a.m. It is the first time since 2009 that a North Korean missile has flown over Japan.

"(With the latest provocation) the North suggested that its Guam threat could be turned into a reality," the NIS was quoted by Rep. Lee Wan-young of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party as saying.
 

National Intelligence Service-director Suh Hoon speaks during a parliamentary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on Aug. 29, 2017. (Yonhap)

"(The North) intended to maximize the impact of its show of force by sending the missile over Japan's airspace.

Kim Byung-kee of the ruling Democratic Party, another lawmaker who attended the briefing, told reporters that it is the first time that the North has launched a missile from an airfield.

"If you launch a missile out on the field, it takes time to erect it. But if you launch it from an airfield, its maneuverability increases, which means it takes more time to detect the launch," Kim said. "From the standpoint of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, it was a bold choice."

During the briefing, the NIS explained that it has yet to confirm whether the intermediate-range missile's atmospheric reentry was successful, and that it is currently analyzing the details about the missile. (Yonhap)