South Korea and US fire missiles after North Korea launch

The South Korean and United States militaries fired surface-to-surface missiles early Wednesday (local time, Tuesday GMT) in response to North Korea's latest ballistic missile provocation.

The South Korean Defence Ministry said the militaries launched a total of four ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) missiles toward the East Sea.

The live-fire drill was aimed at demonstrating precision strike capabilities against North Korea, they said.

North Korea conducted its longest-ever weapons test Tuesday, a nuclear-capable ballistic missile that flew over Japan and could reach the US Pacific territory of Guam and beyond, forcing the Japanese government to issue evacuation alerts and halt trains.

The launch was its most provocative weapons demonstration this year, as it pushes to develop a fully-fledged nuclear arsenal capable of threatening the US mainland and its allies with the goal of wresting concessions from those countries, some experts say.