Seoul, South Korea
Mahaz News
—
North Korea mentioned Sunday it carried out a take a look at of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) a day earlier, its third identified take a look at of the long-range weapon in lower than a 12 months.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency mentioned a Hwasong-15 ICBM was fired in a “surprise ICBM launching drill” below the written orders of chief Kim Jong Un.
The missile flew 989 kilometers (614 miles) for nearly 67 minutes to an altitude of 5,768.5 kilometers (3,584 miles), in accordance with the KCNA report.
It mentioned the take a look at was proof of Pyongyang’s capability to launch a “fatal nuclear counterattack on the hostile forces” and “clear proof of the sure reliability of our powerful physical nuclear deterrent.”
Saturday’s take a look at got here after North Korea warned Friday of “unprecedented strong responses” if the United States and South Korea go forward with deliberate army workout routines.
And on Sunday, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of chief Kim Jong Un and the highest official in her brother’s regime, issued one other warning.
“We will watch every movement of the enemy and take corresponding and very powerful and overwhelming counteraction against its every move hostile to us,” she mentioned in a press release launched by KCNA.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida mentioned the missile fired Saturday landed inside Japan’s unique financial zone west of the northern predominant island of Hokkaido, sparking condemnation from the US.
The ICBM take a look at was North Korea’s third in a 12 months.
North Korea launched a missile final March with a barely longer flight distance and time. That was its first take a look at of such a missile since 2017.
In November, after one other comparable launch, Pyongyang introduced the “test firing of a new kind” ICBM, which it referred to as the Hwasong-17.
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada mentioned on the time it had the potential to succeed in the US mainland. “The ICBM-class ballistic missile launched this time could have a range of over 15,000 km when calculated based on the flight distance of this ICBM,” Hamada mentioned in a press release. “It depends on the weight of the warhead, but in that case, the US mainland would be included in the range.”
North Korea assessments its missiles at a extremely lofted trajectory. If they have been fired at a flatter trajectory, they’d in concept have the flexibility to succeed in the US mainland.
The US authorities described Saturday’s missile launch as “a flagrant violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions,” in accordance with a press release from White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson.
“While [the US Indo-Pacific Command] has assessed it did not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel, or territory, or to our allies, this launch needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region,” Watson mentioned. “It only demonstrates that the DPRK continues to prioritize its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs over the well-being of its people.”
Watson mentioned the US is urging different international locations “to condemn these violations and call on the DPRK to cease its destabilizing actions and engage in serious dialogue.”
Earlier this month, the Kim Jong Un regime showcased nearly a minimum of 11 superior ICBMs at a nighttime army parade in Pyongyang within the greatest show but of what its state-run media described as North Korea’s “nuclear attack capability.”
Analysts mentioned these missiles gave the impression to be Hwasong-17s.
Ankit Panda, a nuclear coverage skilled on the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, mentioned on social media that if every missile within the parade have been geared up with a number of nuclear warheads, they might symbolize sufficient quantity to overwhelm US ballistic missile defenses.
Saturday’s take a look at got here after the North Korean Foreign Ministry lashed out on the United States and South Korea on Friday over their plans for upcoming army workout routines.
Washington and Seoul are anticipated to carry nuclear tabletop drills subsequent week on the Pentagon, the South Korean Defense Ministry mentioned Friday. The allies are additionally anticipated to carry army drills subsequent month within the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea, in the identical assertion, additionally mentioned it might take into account further army motion if the UN Security Council continues to stress Pyongyang “as the United States wants.”
In January, Kim Jong Un referred to as for “an exponential increase of the country’s nuclear arsenal” and highlighted the “necessity of mass-producing tactical nuclear weapons,” in accordance with the nation’s state media KCNA.
Kim had referred to as for the event of a brand new “Intercontinental Ballistic Missile system,” able to a fast nuclear counterstrike, in accordance with the KCNA report.
Source web site: www.cnn.com
