North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on Monday that has a range to hit anywhere in the United States, said South Korea and Japan, marking its second launch in hours as Pyongyang condemned a US-led show of force as “war” moves.
The missile has a potential to travel more than 9,300 miles, meaning it can reach anywhere in Japan and the mainland United States, Japan’s Parliamentary Vice Minister of Defense Shingo Miyake said.
South Korea’s National Security Council said it was a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), labelling the launch a destabilising act that ignored international warnings and multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.
President Yoon Suk Yeol had ordered the upgrading of the effective operation of “nuclear deterrence” by South Korea and the United States, it said in a statement.
Monday’s missile was fired from an area near the capital Pyongyang towards the sea off the North’s east coast and flew about 1,000 km, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. 4 A woman walks past a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test at a railway station in Seoul on Dec. 18, 2023. AFP via Getty Images
Japan’s defense ministry reported the flight lasted 73 minutes, just short of the 74 minute flight by an ICBM North Korea fired in July.
It reached a maximum altitude of more than 3,730 miles and fell into the sea west of Hokkaido outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, Japan said.
Such launches underscore the North’s efforts to advance its arsenal with longer range weapons that could potentially reach the mainland United States. 4 A pedestrian walks past a television screen broadcasting a news report on a North Korean missile launch in Tokyo on Dec. 18, 2023. AFP via Getty Images
The area near the international airport serving Pyongyang is where the North previously launched ICBMs and is suspected to be the location of a missile assembly facility.
The North’s latest, solid-fuel Hwasong-18 ICBMs have been launched from near Pyongyang, at a grass field that analysts said is likely reinforced with concrete for the heavy launch vehicle.
Monday’s missile launch came after North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile on Sunday night, flying about 354 miles and falling into the ocean. 4 The missile North Korea launched has the potential to travel more than 9,300 miles. AP
North Korea followed up that launch with a fiery statement condemning the United States for orchestrating what it called a “preview of a nuclear war,” including the arrival of a nuclear-powered submarine in South Korea on Sunday. U.S SUBMARINE VISITS SOUTH KOREA
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts and stressed the importance of sharing missile warning data, the White House said.
The three allies have been working to set up a real-time missile data sharing system, but it is still “a few days” from going operational, South Korea’s defense ministry said.
On Friday, following a high-level meeting by US and South Korean officials on the use of US strategic military weapons to deter North Korea’s military threat, Washington warned any nuclear attack would lead to the end of the regime. 4 Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida enters his office in Tokyo on Dec. 18, 2023, shortly after North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan. ZUMAPRESS.com
North Korea says it has a sovereign right to operate a ballistic missile programme for self defense and rejects a U.N. Security Council ban, which it says is a product of hostile US policy.
After Sunday’s launch, North Korea’s defense ministry criticised “military gangsters” in the United States and South Korea for raising tensions with drills, displays of force, and nuclear war planning.
The statement by an unnamed ministry spokesman cited the arrival of the US nuclear-powered submarine Missouri in the South Korean port city of Busan on Sunday. see also North Korea shoots ballistic missile into sea 1 day after Biden warns nuke launch would end Kim Jon Un’s regime
Visits by US nuclear submarines had previously been rare, but they have increased under agreements between Seoul and Washington that have boosted deployments of US military assets.
The USS Carl Vinson, a US aircraft carrier, also arrived at Busan last month as part of an effort to increase deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
The North Korean defense ministry also condemned the meeting by South Korean and US officials in Washington as yet another sign of efforts to streamline war preparations and a provocative show of force.
The United States and South Korea have increased the intensity of joint military drills against rising threats from the North, which had tested a range of ballistic missiles and in November launched its first military spy satellite.