North Korea yesterday fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that Japan said could have had the range to hit the US mainland.
The missile was believed to have landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said as he criticized the launch as “absolutely unacceptable.”
The launch is Pyongyang’s second in two days and part of a record-breaking blitz in recent weeks.
Photo: AFP
Tokyo said that the missile could have had the range to hit the US mainland, based on its calculations.
The White House “strongly” condemned the test launch in a statement yesterday.
North Korea said the recent wave of launches is a response to Washington’s moves to bolster its protection of regional security allies South Korea and Japan.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had “detected a long-range ballistic missile (ICBM) at about 10:15am, fired from the Sunan area in Pyongyang towards the East Sea,” referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.
The missile flew 1,000km at an altitude of 6,100km and a speed of Mach 22 (27,165kph), the South Korean military said, calling it a “serious provocation damaging peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.”
Japanese Minister of Defense Yasukazu Hamada said that the “ICBM-class missile” had been fired on a “lofted trajectory,” meaning the missile is fired at a steep angle, not outward, to avoid overflying neighboring countries.
“Based on calculations taking the trajectory into account, the ballistic missile this time around could have had a range capability of 15,000km, depending on the weight of its warhead, and if that’s the case, it means the US mainland was within its range,” he said.
The launch comes a day after North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile, while North Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Choe Son-hui said that Pyongyang would take “fiercer” military action if the US strengthened its “extended deterrence” commitment to regional allies.
Washington has been seeking to boost regional security cooperation and ramp up joint military drills in response to increasing provocations from the nuclear-armed North.
US President Joe Biden discussed North Korea’s recent missile tests with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) earlier this week and also spoke with Japanese and Korean leaders, as fears grow that the reclusive regime could soon carry out its seventh nuclear test.
Experts said the launch of one of North Korea’s most powerful weapons was a clear sign that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was displeased by the talks.
Firing an ICBM “is a clear message to the US and Japan,” said Han Kwon-hee, manager of the Missile Strategy Forum.
Another expert said that North Korea is seizing the timing as an opportunity to conduct banned missile tests, confident of escaping further UN sanctions due to Ukraine-linked gridlock at the UN.
“I primarily see these types of lofted ICBM tests as having a developmental purpose,” said Ankit Panda, Stanton senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
North Korea also launched an ICBM on Nov. 3, but experts said that weapon failed to fly as intended and fell into the ocean after a stage separation. That test was believed to have involved a developmental ICBM called Hwasong-17.
Its size suggests that it is designed to carry multiple nuclear warheads to defeat missile defense systems. Some experts say the Nov. 3 test showed some technological progress in its development, given that in its earlier test in March, the missile exploded soon after liftoff.
Pyongyang sees the US military presence in the region as proof of its hostility toward North Korea. It has said its recent series of weapons launches were its response to what it called provocative military drills between the US and South Korea.
Additional reporting by AP
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