North Korea fires ballistic missile

North Korea fired what appeared to be multiple short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday, according to South Korea's military, a week ahead of a key Asia-Pacific leaders' meeting in South Korea.



It was the first launch of ballistic missiles since May by Pyongyang, which has defied an international ban backed by the U.S. and South Korea on such weapons development.



South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to meet in South Korea next week at a summit meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.



Trump is also expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.



South Korea detected several projectiles believed to be short-range ballistic missiles fired from an area near North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, in a northeasterly direction early on Wednesday.



South Korea's military said it had detected movements ahead of the launch, then tracked the projectiles after they were fired and flew about 350 km .