N.Korea Fires Missile as S.Koreans Head to Polls

North Korea fired another medium-range ballistic missile on Saturday as South Koreans queued up for early voting in the presidential election. It was the ninth missile provocation by the North so far this year.

The North is intensifying its provocations in a bid for attentions as the eyes of its neighbors are on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the South Korean election.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said Saturday that the missile was fired into the East Sea from Pyongyang at 8:48 a.m. and flew a distance of around 270 km at a maximum height of 560 km. The actual range is estimated 1,000-2,500 km.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency claimed Sunday that it was a "test" aimed at launching a surveillance satellite.

"We conducted another important test on Saturday according to our reconnaissance satellite development plan," it said, which "verified the credibility" of the satellite's communication system and terrestrial control networks.

The North also fired a suspected ballistic missile on Feb. 27 and claimed it was a "rocket test" as part of the surveillance satellite development plan.

Experts warned that North Korea will probably launch another intercontinental ballistic missile soon. Long-range rocket tests are widely thought to be a camouflage for IBM programs because they use the same technology.