North Korea launched a possible intercontinental ballistic missile on Monday morning in what analysts said indicated the growing reliability of the reclusive state’s illegal weapons program.
The missile launched Monday exhibited the range to hit anywhere in the United States, according to a preliminary assessment from the Japanese Defense Ministry.
“The ICBM-class ballistic missile launched this time, if calculated based on the trajectory, depending on weight of warhead, could have a flying range of over 15,000 kilometers (9,320 miles), meaning the whole of the US territory would be within range,” Shingo Miyake, parliamentary vice-minister of defense, told reporters at a news conference in Tokyo.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The ICBM fired in July flew about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), staying airborne for 74 minutes, according to Japan’s Defense Ministry – a marginal advancement on the ballistic missiles North Korea tested earlier in the year.
On Sunday night, a short-range ballistic missile was launched toward the waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Shortly after Seoul reported the missile launch, North Korean state media KCNA published a statement by the country’s Defense Ministry spokesperson, condemning what they called “reckless military provocations” by the US and South Korea.
The spokesperson cited the meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) in Washington on December 15, in which the US and South Korea announced the establishment of an extended deterrence system by the middle of next year and large-scale joint military exercises next August.
The spokesperson also cited the arrival of the US attack submarine USS Missouri in South Korea last week, claiming Washington has “hatched a dangerous plot for a nuclear war.”
“The North Korean threat is motivating greater trilateral cooperation among the US, Japan, and South Korea, including real-time sharing of missile tracking data.
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