North Korea fires intercontinental missile that lands off the coast of Japan

North Korea fired on Friday a intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), according to the South Korean armed forces, the second launch in two days, and would have fallen in the waters of the Japanese exclusive economic zone.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that it had “detected a suspected long-range ballistic missile at around 10:15 a.m. (01:15 GMT) fired from Pyongyang’s Sunan area” into the Sea of ​​Japan.

The missile traveled a distance of about 1,000 kilometers at a maximum altitude of 6,100 kilometers and a speed of Mach 22, according to the South Korean military, which called the launch “a threat to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.”

Speaking to the press in Bangkok, where he is participating in a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), the Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishidaassured that the missile would have fallen in waters of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of his country, near the northern region of Hokkaido.

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According to the Japanese Defense Minister, Yasukazu Hamada, the projectile had the capacity to reach US territory.

“Based on calculations that consider the trajectory, the ballistic missile this time could have had a range of 15,000 km, depending on the weight of the warhead, and if so, it could reach the United States,” Hamada said.

US Vice President, Kamala HarrisKishida and the leaders of South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Canada vowed to put pressure on North Korea during an emergency meeting on the issue in Bangkok.

We strongly condemn these actions and reiterate the call for North Korea to cease these illegal and destabilizing acts,” Harris told reporters.

Hours after the launch, Japan and the United States announced that they carried out joint military exercises in the airspace over the Sea of ​​Japan, exercises that “reaffirm the firm will” of the Japanese-American alliance to “respond to any situation,” according to the Japanese Defense Ministry.

diplomatic efforts

For its part, Russia accused the United States of “testing the patience” of Pyongyang.

Although Moscow remains “faithful” to a “diplomatic” solution for the Korean peninsula, “the United States and its allies in the region (…) prefer a different path (…), as if they were testing the patience of Pyongyang,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Riabkov said in Moscow.

The shooting came a day after North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile and its Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned of “fiercer” military action if the United States strengthens its presence in the region. the Korean peninsula.

Washington has sought to boost regional security cooperation with military exercises in response to increasing provocations from North Korea, which sees such exercises as evidence of US aggression.

US President Joe Biden discussed actions to control North Korean arms with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinpingand Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida amid fears that Pyongyang will conduct a nuclear test.

North Korea was a central issue in the meeting between Xi and Kishida on Thursday on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Bangkok.

Experts pointed out that the launch of the ICBM, one of North Korea’s most powerful weapons, is a clear indication that leader Kim Jong Un is upset by such discussions.

“It is now estimated that it was an ICBM. If that is the case, it is a clear message to the United States and Japan,” said Han Kwon-hee, manager of the Missile Strategy Forum.

pitching record

Weeks ago, North Korea carried out a wave of launches, including an ICBM that Seoul said would have failed.

It also fired a short-range ballistic missile that crossed the de facto maritime border between the two countries, near South Korean territorial waters.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol called it a “de facto territorial invasion.”

Both launches were part of the torrent of fire on November 2, with 23 missiles, more than in all of 2017.

Experts say the North is seizing the opportunity to test banned missiles because it hopes to avoid new UN sanctions given the deadlock in the world body over Russia’s war in Ukraine.

China, Pyongyang’s main diplomatic ally, joined Russia in May in vetoing a US attempt to tighten sanctions against North Korea at the UN Security Council.