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North Korea's July 4 launch.
North Korea fired a projectile that appeared to be a missile shortly before midnight Japan time (1500 GMT) on Friday, Japan's public broadcaster NHK said, citing government officials.
The apparent missile may have landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone, Japan's public broadcaster NHK said. Japan chief cabinet secretary told Reuters that the missile flew for 45 minutes, longer than North Korea's previous ICBM launch. Such a long flight time suggests a tremendous range.
For weeks US intelligence monitoring North Korean military sites had predicted another missile test. July 27 marked the "Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War" Thursday, a national holiday that celebrates the end of the Korean war in 1953.
North Korea has a habit of launching missiles on historically significant dates, like the July 4 debut of an intercontinental ballistic missile, but the weather on Thursday was poor, possibly preventing a launch.
Although North Korea has a missile that can strike the US mainland, significant hurdles