North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile into the sea off Japan’s west coast yesterday afternoon after warning of a strong response to upcoming military drills by South Korea and the US.
“The surprise ICBM launching drill … is an actual proof of the DPRK strategic nuclear force’s consistent efforts to turn its capacity of fatal nuclear counterattack on the hostile forces into the irresistible one,” the state news agency KCNA said, using the abbreviation for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Leader Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, bristled at the US for trying to turn the UN Security Council into what she called a “tool for its heinous hostile policy” toward Pyongyang.
“I warn that we will watch every movement of the enemy and take corresponding and very powerful and overwhelming counteraction against its every move hostile to us,” she said in a statement.
Yesterday’s missile launch, the North’s first since Jan 1, came after Pyongyang threatened on Friday an “unprecedentedly persistent, strong” response as South Korea and the US gear up for annual military exercises as part of efforts to fend off the North’s growing nuclear and missile threats.
The state news agency said the missile had flown for one hour, six minutes and 55 seconds, as high as 5,768km, before accurately hitting a pre-set area 989km away in open waters.
Hwasong-15 was first tested in 2017.
Japan said yesterday the missile had plunged into waters inside its exclusive economic zone.
‘Without warning’
Nuclear-armed North Korea fired an unprecedented number of missiles last year, including ICBMs capable of striking anywhere in the US, while resuming preparations for its first nuclear test since 2017.
South Korean foreign minister Park Jin said yesterday’s launch “clearly” signals the North’s intent to conduct additional provocations.
“If North Korea conducts the seventh nuclear test, which could happen at any time, it will be a game changer in a sense that North Korea could develop and deploy tactical nuclear missiles,” Park told the Munich Security Conference yesterday.
The launch, guided by the missile general bureau, was conducted on an “emergency firepower combat standby order” given at dawn, followed by a written order from Kim Jong-un at 8am, KCNA said.
South Korea’s military said they detected the missile at 5.22pm.
“The important bit here is that the exercise was ordered day-of, without warning to the crew involved,” said Ankit Panda, a missile expert at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“The amount of time between the order and the launch is likely going to be decreased with additional testing.”
The military unit got an “excellent mark” over the drill and the North’s ruling party “highly appreciated the actual war capacity of the ICBM units which are ready for mobile and mighty counterattack”, KCNA said.
Analysts say North Korea is likely to conduct more weapons tests, including a possible new solid-fuel missile which could help the North deploy its missiles faster in the event of a war.
North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programmes are banned under UN Security Council resolutions, but Pyongyang says its weapons development is necessary to counter “hostile policies” by Washington and its allies.