North Korea is launching a new, perhaps more agile, ICBM designed to reach the U.S. mainland in the first such test in nearly a year.

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday in its first test in nearly a year of a weapon designed to threaten the U.S. mainland, days before the U.S. election.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the missile test and was at the launch site, calling the launch an “appropriate military action” to show North Korea's determination to respond to moves by its enemies that threatened the North's security, according to its Defense Ministry. .

The United States, South Korea and Japan also identified the weapon as an ICBM and condemned the launch as stoking tensions. Following a phone call from the foreign ministers of the three allies later Thursday, the countries issued a joint statement saying they “strongly urge the DPRK to [North Korea] to immediately cease its series of provocative and destabilizing actions that threaten peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond. »

The launch comes as Washington warns that North Korean troops in Russian uniforms are heading toward Ukraine, likely to reinforce Russian forces and join the war.

A television screen shows an image of a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile launch during a news program at Seoul Station, South Korea, October 31, 2024. Lee Jin-man/AP

North Korea confirmed the launch hours after its neighbors detected the firing of what they suspected was a new, more agile weapon that could target the U.S. mainland. The statement was unusually quick since North Korea typically describes its weapons tests a day after they take place.

“I affirm that the DPRK will never change its line of strengthening its nuclear forces,” Kim said, according to a North Korean Defense Ministry statement carried by state media KCNA. DPRK stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea.

“The test firing is an appropriate military action that fully meets the objective of informing rivals, who have intentionally aggravated the regional situation and recently posed a threat to the security of our Republic, of our willingness to respond” , Kim said. by KCNA, according to the Reuters news agency.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea may have tested a new solid-fueled, long-range ballistic missile. Integrated solid propellant missiles are easier to move and hide and can be launched more quickly than liquid propellant weapons.

JCS spokesman Lee Sung Joon said the launch may have been timed for the U.S. election in a bid to bolster North Korea's future negotiating power. He added that the North Korean missile was launched at a high angle, apparently to avoid neighboring countries.

Japanese Defense Minister General Nakatani told reporters that the missile's flight duration of 86 minutes was longer and its maximum altitude of more than 4,350 miles was higher than those seen in previous North Korean missile tests.

Lee, the South Korean military spokesman, said South Korea had a similar assessment regarding Thursday's launch.

KCNA said the flight characteristics of this launch exceeded those recorded for its previous missile launches, but did not detail the differences.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the United States “condemns” the test and called on Pyongyang to “refrain from any further illegal and destabilizing acts.” our allies, we continue to monitor the situation. The United States' commitments to the defense of the Republic of Korea (the Republic of Korea – the official name of South Korea) and Japan remain ironclad. »

US National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett called the launch a “blatant violation” of several UN Security Council resolutions, saying it “needlessly increases tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation.” in the region.

South Korea and Japan condemned the North Korean launch as posing a threat to international peace and said they were closely coordinating the test with the United States. Lee said South Korea and the United States were planning “sufficient” bilateral and trilateral military exercises involving Japan in response to North Korean threats.

Lee said the missile may have been fired from a 12-axle launcher, the North's largest mobile launch platform, revealed in September. The vehicle's reveal sparked speculation that North Korea could develop an ICBM larger than existing models.

North Korea has made advances in its missile technologies in recent years, but many foreign experts believe Pyongyang has yet to acquire a working nuclear missile that could strike the U.S. mainland. They say North Korea likely has short-range missiles capable of launching nuclear strikes on all of South Korea.

One of the technological hurdles North Korea still faces is the ability of its weapons to survive the harsh conditions of atmospheric re-entry. South Korean officials and experts said earlier that North Korea could test an ICBM launch from a normal angle to verify the capability.

Lee said a wide-angle launch like Thursday's could not examine a missile's reentry vehicle technology. He said further analysis was needed to determine why North Korea did not launch on a standard trajectory on Thursday.

South Korea's military intelligence agency told lawmakers Wednesday that North Korea was close to testing a long-range missile capable of reaching the United States and had likely also completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test.

North Korea last tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in December 2023, when it launched the solid-fueled Hwasong-18.

Over the past two years, Kim has used Russia's invasion of Ukraine as an opportunity to step up weapons tests and threats, while expanding military cooperation with Moscow. South Korea, the United States and others have recently accused North Korea of ​​sending thousands of troops to support Russia's war against Ukraine. They said North Korea has already shipped artillery, missiles and other convection weapons to Russia.

North Korea's possible participation in the war in Ukraine would mark a serious escalation. South Korea, the United States and their partners also worry about what North Korea could get from Russia in exchange for participating in Russia's war against Ukraine. Besides his soldiers' salaries, experts say Kim Jong Un likely hopes to obtain high-tech Russian technology capable of perfecting his nuclear-capable missiles and building a reliable space surveillance system. Kim may also want Russian fighter jets and help modernize North Korea's conventional weapons.

On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said North Korean troops wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian equipment were heading toward Ukraine, in what he called a dangerous and destabilizing development. Austin said “the likelihood is quite high” that Russia will use these troops in combat.

Austin spoke at a news conference in Washington with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol last week raised the possibility of supplying weapons to Ukraine, while stressing that his government “will not stand idly by” in the face of sending North Korean troops.

South Korea said on Wednesday that North Korea had sent more than 11,000 troops to Russia and that more than 3,000 of them had been moved near battlefields in western Russia.

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