North Korea launches missile amid nuclear security meet in Washington

North Korea has fired another ballistic missile off its east coast as regional leaders met in Washington to discuss the threat of Pyongyang`s nuclear weapons programme.

Seoul (South Korea): North Korea has fired another ballistic missile off its east coast as regional leaders met in Washington to discuss the threat of Pyongyang`s nuclear weapons programme.

South Korean Defence Ministry said the missile was fired at about 12.45 pm local time on Friday from near Sondok airport in the east, reports the Guardian.However, the range and trajectory could not be confirmed immediately.

North Korea continues missile launches during elevated military tension on the Korean peninsula.

The launch came in the middle of a two-day Nuclear Security Summit being hosted by US President Barack Obama in Washington in which he held talks with China, South Korea and Japan on Pyongyang`s actions.

The United States, Republic of Korea and Japan yesterday vowed to deter and defend against North Korean nuclear threats and stand united in fighting global terrorism.

President Obama highlighted the need to vigilantly enforce the strong UN security measures imposed on Pyongyang after its latest nuclear test and subsequent long-range rocket launch.

Meanwhile, North Korean state media labelled the ongoing Nuclear Security Summit as a nonsensical effort to find fault with its legitimate access to nuclear weapons.

The existing UN sanctions ban North Korea from conducting any ballistic missile test, although short-range launches tend to go unpunished. 

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