North Korea launches new, possibly faster ICBM designed to reach US mainland in first such test in nearly a year

Seoul, South Korea – North Korea launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday in its first test in nearly a year of a weapon designed to threaten the US homeland, just days before. US election.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the missile test and was at the launch site, calling the launch an “appropriate military action” to show North Korea’s determination to respond to actions by its enemies that have threatened the North’s security, according to the Defense Ministry. .

The United States, South Korea and Japan have also identified the weapon as an ICBM and criticized the launch as increasing tensions. The launch came as Washington warned that North Korean soldiers dressed in Russian uniforms are heading to Ukrainewhich is likely to increase Russian forces and join the war.

North Korea confirmed the launch hours after its neighbors received shots of what they suspect was a new, more powerful weapon that could strike the US mainland.

“I confirm that the DPRK will never change its way of strengthening its nuclear forces,” Kim said, according to a statement by North Korea’s Defense Ministry carried by the state-run KCNA news agency. DPRK stands for Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea.

“Shooting is an appropriate military action that fully meets the purpose of informing the adversaries, who have deliberately escalated the situation in the region and threatened the security of our Republic recently, regarding our opposition,” Kim was quoted as saying. by KCNA, according to Reuters news agency.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea may have tested a new, long-range, solid-fueled ballistic missile. Missiles with built-in solid propellants are easier to maneuver and conceal and can be launched faster than liquid-propellant weapons.

JCS spokesman Lee Sung Joon said the launch may be timed for the US election in an effort to strengthen North Korea’s negotiating power. He said the North Korean missile was launched at a high angle, apparently to avoid neighboring countries.

Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters that the missile’s flight duration of 86 minutes was longer and its altitude of more than 4,350 miles was higher than that seen in previous North Korean missile tests.

Lee, a South Korean military spokesman, said South Korea had conducted a similar test during Thursday’s launch.

KCNA said the flight characteristics of this launch exceeded those registered for previous missile launches but did not elaborate on the differences.

US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett called the launch a “blatant violation” of multiple UN Security Council resolutions that “unnecessarily provoke tension and risk destabilizing the security situation in the region.” Savett said the US will take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the US and its allies in South Korea and Japan.

Both South Korea and Japan condemned North Korea’s launch as a threat to international peace and said they were closely cooperating with the US on the test. Lee said South Korea and the US are planning “sufficient” bilateral and trilateral military exercises involving Japan to respond to North Korea’s threats.

Lee said the missile may have been fired from a 12-axle launch vehicle, the North’s largest mobile launch platform, which he unveiled in September. The unveiling of the vehicle has sparked speculation that North Korea may be developing a larger ICBM.

North Korea has made advances in its missile technology in recent years, but many foreign experts believe Pyongyang has yet to find a nuclear-tipped missile capable of striking the US mainland. They say North Korea may have short-range missiles that could deliver nuclear strikes across South Korea.

One of the technical hurdles North Korea still faces is whether its weapons can survive the harsh conditions of reentry into space. South Korean officials and experts have previously said North Korea may launch an ICBM at a normal angle to confirm that capability.

Lee said a high-angle launch like Thursday’s test cannot test the technology of re-entry missile vehicles. He said further analysis is needed to determine why North Korea did not conduct a standard-trajectory launch on Thursday.

South Korea’s military intelligence agency told lawmakers on Wednesday that North Korea is close to testing a long-range missile capable of reaching the United States and may have completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test.

North Korea last test fired an intercontinental ballistic missile in December 2023while introducing the strongly inflated Hwasong-18.

In the past two years, Kim has used it Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a window to stockpile weapons tests and threats while also increasing military cooperation with Moscow. South Korea, the US and more recently accused North Korea of ​​sending thousands of troops to support Russia’s war with Ukraine. They said North Korea has already sent weapons, missiles and other guided weapons to Russia.

The possible participation of North Korea in the war in Ukraine would represent a major escalation. South Korea, the US and their allies are also worried about what North Korea can gain from Russia by joining Russia’s war with Ukraine. Besides his military’s salaries, experts say Kim Jong Un may be hoping to acquire advanced Russian technology that can perfect his nuclear-capable missiles and build a reliable space-based surveillance system. Kim would also seek Russian warplanes and help modernize North Korea’s conventional weapons.

On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that North Korean soldiers wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian equipment were heading toward Ukraine, in what he called a dangerous and destructive development. Austin said there is a “high probability” that Russia will use the military in the war.

Austin spoke at a press conference in Washington with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol last week hinted at the possibility of Ukraine supplying weapons while stressing that his government “will not remain passive” regarding the deployment of troops to North Korea.

South Korea said on Wednesday that North Korea has sent more than 11,000 soldiers to Russia and more than 3,000 of them have been deployed near the battlefields in western Russia.