North Korea says it test-fired its biggest intercontinental missile; U.S. adds sanctions
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Friday it had test-fired its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile yet under the orders of leader Kim Jong Un, who vowed to expand his country’s “nuclear war deterrent” while preparing for a “long-standing confrontation” with the United States.
The report by North Korean state media came a day after the militaries of South Korea and Japan said they detected North Korea launching an ICBM from an airport near the capital, Pyongyang, in its first long-range test since 2017.
The launch extended a barrage of weapons demonstrations this year that analysts say are aimed at forcing the United States to accept the idea of North Korea as a nuclear power and remove crippling sanctions against its broken economy that has been further damaged by pandemic-related difficulties.
The Hwasong-17, which was fired at a high angle to avoid the territorial waters of neighbors, reached a maximum altitude of about 3,880 miles and traveled about 680 miles during a 67-minute flight before landing in waters between North Korea and Japan, Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency said.
The agency said the test met desired technical objectives and proved the ICBM could be operated quickly during wartime conditions.
The South Korean and Japanese militaries had announced similar flight details, which analysts say suggested that the missile could reach targets 9,320 miles away when fired on normal trajectory with a warhead weighing less than a ton. That would place the entire U.S. mainland within striking distance.
The White House plans to impose additional sanctions on North Korea for two recent ballistic missile tests that it says were efforts to test its ICBM capabilities.
Believed to be about 82 feet long, the Hwasong-17 is the North’s longest-range weapon and, by some estimates, the world’s biggest road-mobile ballistic missile system. North Korea revealed the missile in a military parade in October 2020, and Thursday’s launch was its first full-range test.
The North Korean news agency, or KCNA, paraphrased Kim as saying that his new weapon would make the “whole world clearly aware” of his country’s bolstered nuclear forces. He vowed his military would acquire “formidable military and technical capabilities unperturbed by any military threat and blackmail and keep themselves fully ready for long-standing confrontation with the U.S. imperialists.”
KCNA published photos of the missile leaving a trail of orange flames as it soared from a launcher truck on the airport’s runway and Kim smiling and clapping as he celebrated with military officials from an observation deck.
State TV dramatized the testing process like a Hollywood movie, showing Kim walking in slow motion in front of the giant missile in sunglasses and a black leather motorcycle jacket. It edited quick cuts that alternately show Kim and other officials staring at their watches before Kim takes off his sunglasses and nods, with the video then showing the missile being rolled out of the hangar.
Other images showed Kim writing a memo ordering the Hwasong-17 test flight and approving the launch. Kim has issued handwritten orders for some of the most significant weapons demonstrations of his rule over North Korea, including its last ICBM test-flight in November 2017, which capped a highly provocative run of nuclear and missile tests that triggered a verbal exchange of war threats with then-President Trump.
South Korea’s military responded to Thursday’s launch with live-fire drills of its own missiles launched from land, a fighter jet and a ship, underscoring a revival of tensions as diplomacy remains frozen. It said it confirmed readiness to execute precision strikes against North Korea’s missile launch points as well as command and support facilities.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III held separate telephone conversations with his counterparts in South Korea and Japan, during which they discussed responses to North Korean missile activities and vowed to strengthen defense cooperation, according to Pentagon statements.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said he spoke with South Korean counterpart Chung Eui-yong and agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation against the North Korean threat and seek further United Nations Security Council actions against Pyongyang. Seoul’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, criticized the North for breaking its self-imposed moratorium on ICBM tests.
“Whatever North Korea’s intent may be, the North must immediately suspend action that creates tensions on the Korean Peninsula and destabilizes the regional security situation, and return to the table for dialogue and negotiations,” ministry spokesperson Cha Deok-cheol said.
The U.S. requested an open Security Council meeting on the launch and anticipates it on Friday, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., told reporters.
The United States also imposed fresh sanctions against five entities and individuals in Russia and North Korea over transferring sensitive items to Pyongyang’s missile program, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.
Thursday’s test was North Korea’s 12th round of weapons launches this year and represented the most provocative since President Biden took office.
North Korea’s resumption of nuclear brinkmanship reflects a determination to cement its status as a nuclear power and wrest badly needed economic concessions from Washington and others from a position of strength, analysts say. Kim may also feel a need to trumpet his military accomplishments to his domestic audience and drum up loyalty while the country faces economic difficulties.
North Korea this year has also launched a purported hypersonic weapon, a long-range cruise missile and an intermediate-range missile that could reach Guam, a major U.S. military hub in the Pacific.
The U.S. and South Korean militaries previously said North Korea was preparing for a full-range test of the Hwasong-17 after concluding two of the recent midrange launches that included components of the new ICBM.
Following its highly provocative streak of nuclear and ICBM tests in 2017, Kim suspended such testing in 2018 before his first meeting with Trump. But negotiations derailed in 2019 when the Americans rejected North Korean demands for a major lifting of U.S.-led sanctions against Pyongyang in exchange for a limited surrender of its nuclear capabilities.
The ICBMs launched in three 2017 test flights demonstrated they could reach into the U.S. mainland. The larger Hwasong-17 may be intended to be armed with multiple warheads to overwhelm missile defenses.
North Korea’s government in January had issued a veiled threat to end Kim’s moratorium on ICBM and nuclear tests, citing U.S. hostility.
South Korea’s military has also detected signs that North Korea may be restoring some of the nuclear-testing tunnels it detonated just before Kim’s first meeting with Trump in 2018.
Some experts say North Korea may resume nuclear testing in coming months to claim it has acquired an ability to build nuclear warheads small enough to fit on some of its new delivery systems, including the hypersonic missile.
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