Seoul, Nov 17 (TIWN) North Korea fired one short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) into the East Sea on Thursday, its first missile provocation in a little over a week, according to the South Korean military.

The provocative move came after more than 10 North Korean warplanes staged a menacing flight close to the inter-Korean border, prompting the South Korean Air Force to scramble its F-35A stealth fighters and other assets to the scene, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).  The JCS said it detected the SRBM launch from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at 1:49 a.m., and that the missile flew some 700 kilometers at an apogee of 50 km at a top speed of about Mach 6.