SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile on Wednesday, its neighbors said, two days after threatening the United States over what it called spy plane incursions into its airspace.
The South Korean military confirmed that North Korea had launched a suspected long-range ballistic missile to the east from the outskirts of Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, around 10 a.m. Wednesday (9 p.m. Tuesday ET). from the east). He said that surveillance had been strengthened and that he was maintaining military readiness in close cooperation with the US.
Japanese government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said that while details were being scrutinized, the missile was estimated to have flown for 74 minutes before falling into the Sea of Japan about 155 miles west of Okushiri Island in Hokkaido around 11 a.m. :13 a.m.
The missile, which was launched on an elevated trajectory, was estimated to have traveled 620 miles and reached a maximum altitude of approximately 3,725 miles. Matsuno said it landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone and there were no reports of damage in the area.
Nuclear-armed North Korea launched its first ICBMs in 2017 as part of its effort to develop long-range weapons capable of reaching the US denuclearization talks. North Korea It is also believed to be preparing for its seventh nuclear test, which would be its first since 2017.
Wednesday’s launch was North Korea’s first missile test since June 15 and the first time it has launched an ICBM since April. Both South Korea and Japan condemned it as a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, which prohibit North Korea from using ballistic missile technology.
“These acts by North Korea threaten the peace and security of not only our country but also the region, as well as the international community, and it is absolutely unacceptable,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in Lithuania, where attend a summit NATO, the US-led military alliance.
Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is also at the summit, are expected to meet on Wednesday as part of efforts to improve relations between their countries, both allies of the United States with close ties to the NATO but without formal membership.
Yoon called an emergency meeting of his Lithuanian National Security Council in response to the launch, his office said.
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said this week that a US military spy plane illegally entered North Korea’s eastern exclusive economic zone eight times on Monday and was driven off by North Korean warplanes. Countries have the right to control marine resources within their exclusive economic zones, which extend 200 nautical miles from their territory, but they do not have sovereignty over the surface of the water or the airspace above it.
Kim warned that a “shocking incident” could occur if the US intrusions continue. The North Korean Defense Ministry also said that such flights could be shot down.
The South Korean military said the US-South Korean alliance flight activity was normal and dismissed the North Korean claims as “completely ridiculous.”
The US government also dismissed Kim’s allegations, with State Department spokesman Matthew Miller urging North Korea to “refrain from escalating actions” and “engage in sustained and serious diplomacy.”
Defense Department spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said the US military has always operated responsibly, safely and in accordance with international law.
“Those accusations are just accusations,” he told reporters on Monday.
Despite international sanctions, North Korea has continued to develop its missile and nuclear weapons programs. In April, it tested its first solid-fuel ICBM, which experts say is harder to detect and counter than missiles that use liquid fuel. It is unclear how close the North is to having operationally nuclear-armed ICBMs capable of attacking the continental United States.
In May, North Korea also tried and failed to launch what it said was a military spy satellite. The South Korean military, which recovered the remains of the crashed satellite, said last week that it appeared to have no military use.
North and South Korea have remained frozen in conflict since the Korean War, which ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty 70 years ago this month.
