North Korea test-fires ICBM days before U.S. election
Category: News & Politics
Via: perrie-halpern • 3 weeks ago • 7 commentsBy: Stella Kim, Arata Yamamoto and Jennifer Jett
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Thursday that it had test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that could strike the continental U.S. for the first time in almost a year, days before the U.S. presidential election.
The U.S., South Korea and Japan also characterized the weapon as an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, which can have a range of at least 3,500 miles and is designed mainly to deliver nuclear weapons. It is the first ICBM launch since December for North Korea, a reclusive nuclear-armed state that has been ratcheting up its rhetoric against the U.S. and its allies South Korea and Japan.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the missile test and was at the launch site, according to a Defense Ministry statement that was carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency. Kim characterized it as an "appropriate military action" in the face of what he said was intentional escalation of regional tensions by North Korea's rivals.
"I affirm that the DPRK will never change its line of bolstering up its nuclear forces," Kim said, using the abbreviation for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
It was a surprisingly fast confirmation from North Korea, which usually provides details of its weapons tests the day after.
The missile was launched from a site near the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, at 7:10 a.m. local time (6:10 p.m. Wednesday ET), South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Spokesperson Lee Sung-joon said the missile was fired "at a very high altitude" and traveled more than 600 miles before it landed in the sea off North Korea's east coast.
The launch might have been held so close to the U.S. election to strengthen North Korea's negotiating leverage and grab attention, Lee said.
He said the weapon might have been fueled by solid propellants, which allow missiles to be launched faster and moved more discreetly than liquid-fueled ones, and that it might have been fired from a 12-axle launch vehicle, which was revealed last month and is North Korea's biggest mobile launch platform.
Lee agreed with Japan's assessment that the missile traveled for about 86 minutes and reached a maximum altitude of about 4,350 miles, which is higher than previous North Korean missile tests.
The launch time is also the longest ever for a North Korean missile, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said.
Japanese officials said that the missile landed outside the country's exclusive economic zone and that there were no reports of damage. Both Japan and South Korea condemned the launch as a threat to their safety, as well as that of the international community.
In a statement, National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett condemned the launch as a "flagrant violation" of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions, saying it "needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region."
According to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the launch did not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory or to its allies South Korea and Japan, which host tens of thousands of U.S. service members.
The launch came a day after South Korea's Defense Intelligence Agency told lawmakers that North Korea could launch an ICBM around the U.S. election or even hold its seventh nuclear test, which has been anticipated for some time. North Korea's last nuclear test was in September 2017.
The ICBM that North Korea launched in December, the solid-fueled Hwasong-18, had a lofted trajectory flight time that suggests a potential range of 9,300 miles on a normal trajectory, putting it within striking distance of anywhere in the mainland U.S.
However, experts say North Korea has yet to master the technology needed to build warheads small enough to be placed on those missiles and protect the warheads during atmospheric reentry.
Pyongyang, which is strengthening security ties with Moscow, is believed to have sent thousands of soldiers for training in Russia's Far East, some of whom may have already moved toward Ukraine. The U.S. and others say that in exchange, Russia may be providing North Korea with key technology necessary to advance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
North Korea has said the deployment is a "rumor," while Russian President Vladimir Putin did not deny the reports when NBC News asked him about them last week.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterpart, Kim Yong-hyun, condemned the deployment at their annual bilateral meeting in Washington on Wednesday.
Austin said that it would be "very disturbing" if North Korean soldiers entered the Russian fight against Ukrainian forces and that they could be killed as a result.
"Their actions have consequences, as all actions have consequences, and they need to be mindful of that in terms of what could happen," he said.
Austin and Kim Yong-hyun will meet Thursday in Washington with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his South Korean counterpart, Cho Tae-yul.
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They make that claim every few years, meanwhile the projectile doesn't make it past Japan.
It seems that Kim thinks that the US is as stupid as he is. It appears that NK is not aware of the US defense system, and would just sit helplessly allowing the NK missiles to bombard our soil. After seeing the laughable results of their most recent test missiles, that their missiles would even reach the US is likely just wishful thinking on their part.
And, if the news that Kim has pissed off China by joining the loser Putin in his war on Ukraine is true, Kim may regret such a move.
The missile will just have to make it to our airspace somewhere around 30,000 ft. and it is literally lights out for the west coast. Why do you think that the Iranian missiles seem to malfunction at around 30,000 ft.? They are testing out the triggering mechanism for the best altitude to get off an EMP.
NK would be the world's biggest glass rice bowl before their missile crossed the international dateline ...
Most likely the missile(s would never reach US airspace, as it/they would be destroyed before getting anywhere near the west coast, or anywhere else it/they are aimed at.
The majority of NK's missiles fall into the water before even making it barely past the NK shoreline.
It's all just a lot of wishful thinking on Kim's part.
JMOO
Well, yeah, if they let them go further it could cause a very serious international incident for them. They just need them to be fueled enough to gauge lift, altitude, and triggering function to learn what a fully fueled one will do.
s it/they would be destroyed before getting anywhere near the west coast, or anywhere else it/they are aimed at.
That is a lot of territory to cover, 5 to 6 miles in altitude and maybe up to 100 or more miles away.
NK obviously does not know the capability of the AEGIS BMDS. Their missiles would be brought down long before ever reaching US shores.