North Korea tests ICBMs days before US elections

SEOUL, South Korea North Korea said Thursday it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile that could strike the continental United States for the first time in nearly a year, days before the U.S. presidential election.

The United States, South Korea and Japan have also called the weapon an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, which can have a range of at least 3,500 miles and is designed primarily to deliver nuclear weapons. It was the first ICBM launch since December for North Korea, a reclusive nuclear-armed state that has stepped up its rhetoric against the United States 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 carried by the Korean Central News Agency. Kim called it an appropriate military action in the face of what he said was an intentional escalation of regional tensions by North Korea's rivals.

I affirm that the DPRK will never change its line of strengthening its nuclear forces, Kim said, using the abbreviation of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

This was a surprisingly quick confirmation from North Korea, which usually provides details of its weapons tests the next day.

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), the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Spokesman Lee Sung-joon said the missile was fired at a very high altitude and traveled more than 600 miles before landing in the sea off North Korea's east coast.

The launch could have taken place so close to the U.S. election to strengthen North Korea's bargaining power and attract attention, Lee said.

He said the weapon could have been powered by solid propellants, which allow missiles to be launched more quickly and move more discreetly than liquid-fueled ones, and that it could have been fired from a rocket launcher. 12 axles, which was revealed last month and is North Korea's largest mobile launch platform.

Lee agrees 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 recorded for a North Korean missile, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said.

Japanese officials said the missile landed outside the country's exclusive economic zone and no damage was reported. Japan and South Korea condemned the launch as a threat to their security and that of the international community.

Later Thursday, South Korea's Foreign Ministry announced new export controls on products that could be used in North Korea's development of solid-fuel ballistic missiles.

In a statement, National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett condemned the launch as a flagrant violation of several United Nations Security Council resolutions, saying it unnecessarily increased tensions and risked destabilizing the situation. security in the region.

According to the US Indo-Pacific Command, the launch does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, nor to its allies South Korea and Japan, which host tens of thousands of US troops.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries, which are stepping up cooperation in the region, responded to the North Korean launch Thursday by conducting a large-scale joint air exercise, the South Korean military said.

There has been little response from China, North Korea's most important neighbor and trading partner.

Asked about the launch on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Beijing has always believed that maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula and promoting a political resolution of the peninsula issue served the common interests of all parties.

The launch came a day after South Korea's Defense Intelligence Agency told lawmakers that North Korea could launch an ICBM in the run-up to the U.S. election or even conduct its seventh nuclear test, which would had been expected for some time. North Korea's last nuclear test was in September 2017.

The ICBM launched by North Korea in December, the solid-fueled Hwasong-18, had a high flight time that suggests a potential range of 9,300 miles on a normal trajectory, putting it at a strike distance of anywhere on the American continent.

However, experts say North Korea has not yet mastered the technology needed to build warheads small enough to place on these missiles and protect the warheads during atmospheric reentry.

Pyongyang, which is strengthening its security ties with Moscow, has reportedly sent thousands of troops to train in the Russian Far East, some of whom may already have headed to Ukraine. The United States and others say that in exchange, Russia could provide North Korea with key technology needed to advance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

North Korea has said the deployment is just a rumor, while Russian President Vladimir Putin did not deny the reports when asked about it by NBC News last week.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterpart Kim Yong-hyun condemned the deployment during their annual bilateral meeting in Washington on Wednesday.

Austin said it would be very worrying if North Korean soldiers entered the Russian fight against Ukrainian forces and could be killed as a result.

Their actions have consequences, like all actions have consequences, and they need to be aware of that about what might happen, he said.

Austin and Kim Yong-hyun will meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul in Washington on Thursday.

Stella Kim reported from Seoul, Arata Yamamoto from Oshu City, Japan, and Jennifer Jett from Hong Kong.

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