N Korea fires its first ICBM in three months after warning US
North Korea test-fired its first intercontinental ballistic missile in three months on Wednesday, days after it threatened “shocking” consequences to protest what it called provocative United States reconnaissance activity near its territory.
Some experts say North Korea likely launched its developmental, road-mobile Hwasong-18 ICBM, a type of solid-fuel weapon that is harder to detect and intercept than its liquid-fuel ICBMs. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un previously called the Hwasong-18 the most powerful weapon of his nuclear forces, AP reported.
The missile, fired from North Korea’s capital region around 10 a.m., flew about 1,000 kilometers at a maximum altitude of 6,000 kilometers before landing in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, according to South Korean and Japanese assessments. They said the missile was launched at a high angle in what observers say was an apparent attempt to avoid neighboring countries.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the missile flew for 74 minutes – the longest flight time recorded by any weapon launched by North Korea.
South Korea’s military called the launch “a grave provocation” and urged North Korea to refrain from additional launches. Matsuno denounced North Korea’s repeated missile launches as “threats to the peace and safety of Japan, the region and international society.”
In a trilateral phone call, the chief nuclear envoys of South Korea, Japan and the US agreed to sternly deal with North Korean provocations and boost their coordination to promote a stronger international response to the North’s nuclear and missile programs, according to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry.
The launch came while South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida were attending the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. In an emergency meeting of South Korea’s security council convened by video in Lithuania, Yoon warned North Korea would face more powerful international sanctions due to its illicit weapons programs.
The North’s ICBM test in April was the first launch of the Hwasong-18. After that launch, Kim said the missile would enhance the North’s counterattack capabilities.
Earlier this week, North Korea released a series of statements accusing the US of flying a military spy plane close to its soil.
In a statement on Monday, Kim’s sister and top adviser, Kim Yo-jong, warned the United States of “a shocking incident” as she said that the US spy plane flew over the North’s eastern exclusive economic zone eight times earlier in the day.
The US and South Korea dismissed the North’s accusations and urged it to refrain from any acts or rhetoric that raised animosities.
UN Security Council resolutions ban North Korea from engaging in any launches using ballistic technologies. But China and Russia, both permanent members of the council, blocked the US and others’ attempts to toughen UN sanctions on North Korea over its recent ballistic missile tests.