North Korea Fires Suspected ICBM Designed to Hit US

By Staff, Agencies

North Korea fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile that landed near Japanese territorial waters Friday, its neighbors said, the second such major weapons test this month that shows its determination to perfect weapons systems targeting the US mainland.

The launch was the latest in a barrage of weapons tests that North Korea has conducted in recent months in response to what it calls US hostility. Some experts say the North is able to perform such a spree of weapons tests partly because China and Russia have opposed US moves to toughen sanctions on North Korea, AP reported.

The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the suspected ICBM launch from North Korea’s capital region at 10:15 am and the weapon flew toward the North’s eastern coast across the country. The statement said South Korea’s military bolstered its surveillance of North Korea and maintains readiness in close coordination with the United States.

If confirmed, it would be North Korea’s first ICBM launch in about two weeks. Experts said an ICBM launched by North Korea on Nov. 3 failed to fly its intended flight and fell into the ocean after a stage separation.

The Nov. 3 test was believed to have involved a developmental ICBM called Hwasong-17. North Korea has two other types of ICBM — Hwasong-14 and Hwasong-15 — and their test-launches in 2017 proved they could potentially reach parts of the US homeland.

The Hwasong-17 has a longer potential range than the others and its huge size suggests it’s designed to carry multiple nuclear warheads to defeat missile defense systems. Some experts say the Nov. 3 test showed some technological progress in the development of the Hwasong-17, given that in its earlier test in March, the missile exploded soon after liftoff.