North Korea yesterday test-fired possibly its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) toward the sea, its neighbors said, raising the ante in a pressure campaign aimed at forcing the US and other rivals to accept it as a nuclear power and remove crippling sanctions.
The launch, which extended North Korea’s barrage of weapons tests this year, came after the US and South Korean militaries said Pyongyang was preparing a flight of a new large ICBM first unveiled in October 2020.
The South Korean military responded with live-fire drills of its own missiles launched from land, a fighter jet and a ship, underscoring a revival of tensions as nuclear negotiations remain frozen.
Photo: AFP / South Korean Ministry of Defense
It said it confirmed readiness to execute precision strikes against North Korea’s missile launch points, as well as command and support facilities.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North’s ICBM fired from the Sunan area near Pyongyang traveled 1,080km and reached a maximum altitude of more than 6,200km. The missile was apparently fired on high angle to avoid reaching the territorial waters of Japan.
The flight details suggested a new type of ICBM, Japanese Deputy Minister of Defense Makoto Oniki said.
“It’s an unforgivable recklessness. We resolutely condemn the act,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said after arriving in Belgium for G7 meetings.
The missile flew 71 minutes before possibly landing near Japanese territorial waters off the island of Hokkaido, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said, adding that Japan might search for debris inside its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to analyze the North’s technology.
Japan’s coast guard issued a warning to vessels in nearby waters, but there were no immediate reports of damage to boats or aircraft.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in during an emergency National Security Council meeting criticized North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for breaking a self-imposed moratorium on ICBM tests, and posing a “serious threat” to the region and the broader international community.
The US strongly condemns the North’s launch, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, calling it a “brazen violation” of UN Security Council resolutions that risks destabilizing the region’s security.
“The door has not closed on diplomacy, but Pyongyang must immediately cease its destabilizing actions. The United States will take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the American homeland, and Republic of Korea and Japanese allies,” she said.
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS