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US Officials Detect Another North Korean Missile Launch

The Pentagon detected the missile around 10:45 a.m. ET Friday.
Posted at 4:54 PM, Jul 28, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-28 16:54:28-04

North Korea reportedly launched a ballistic missile Friday.

Multiple outlets report U.S. officials detected the launch around 10:45 a.m. Eastern.

South Korea's joint chiefs of staff and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe also confirmed the launch.

A Japanese government official says it believes the missile flew about 45 minutes before falling into the sea off Japan's coast.

That means Friday's missile flew about six minutes longer than the intercontinental ballistic missile North Korea launched July 4, which some analysts think had the range to hit Alaska.

This latest test comes after the North threatened a nuclear strike if the U.S. tries to remove leader Kim Jong-un from power.

North Korea is accelerating its ballistic missile program so much that U.S. intelligence thinks the country could launch a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile as early as 2018.