China tests new guided missile in Bohai Sea

China on Tuesday said it has successfully tested a new guided missile in the Bohai Sea near the tense Korean peninsula to raise the operational capability of its armed forces and "effectively respond to threats" to national security.

The People's Liberation Army Rocket (Missile) Force tested the new missile in the Bohai based on annual training programme, the defence ministry said in a brief statement.The missile was designed to "raise operational capability" of the armed forces to "effectively respond to threats" to national security, it said, adding that the test had "achieved an expected result." However, the statement did not specify when the missile was tested. It just said the test was carried out recently. The ministry has not released any further information about the missile, state-run CGTN reported on Tuesday.

The Bohai Sea is a body of water off the coasts of Tianjin municipality, Shandong, Hebei and Liaoning provinces. The test was carried amid China's vociferous protests over US deployment of THAAD interceptor missiles in South Korea, whose powerful radars could see through most part of China including its missile development programme.