(LEAD) N. Korea's 'SA-5 missile' fired across NLL similar to Russia's missile used in Ukraine war: S. Korean military

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 5-6; ADDS photos, bylines)
By Kim Soo-yeon and Chae Yun-hwan

SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Yonhap) -- The North Korean missile that flew across its de facto maritime border with South Korea last week has been found to be an "SA-5" type similar to that used by Russia in the Ukraine war, South Korea's military said Wednesday.

The defense ministry announced the results of an interagency analysis of the debris of a missile that North Korea fired southward on Nov. 2 past the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the East Sea.

The debris is around 3 meters long and 2 meters wide, assessed to be that of an "SA-5" surface-to-air missile, given its appearance and feature, it said.

It can be used for a ground-to-ground strike purpose and Russia recently used a similar missile in its war in Ukraine, the ministry added.

It "strongly" condemned the North's SA-5 missile firing as a violation of the inter-Korean military agreement signed on Sept. 19, 2018, to reduce border tensions.

"Our military will not tolerate any North Korean provocation that poses a threat to our nationals' lives and safety. We will sternly deal with it with overwhelming capabilities based on the Seoul-Washington alliance," the ministry said.

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