Tuesday, December 3, 2024
HomeWorldAsiaNorth Korea tests missile with range long enough to strike US

North Korea tests missile with range long enough to strike US

North Korea claimed to have successfully test-fired its new Hwasong-19 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), according to Korean media.

Hwasong-19 reached an altitude of 7,687.5 kilometres (4,776.8 miles) and flew 1,001.2 kilometres in 5,156 seconds, or 85 minutes and 56 seconds. The missile set a record for both altitude and flight time among North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile tests.

Estimates show that Hwasong-19 can reach a distance of more than 15,000 kilometres when launched on a standard trajectory. This is enough to target the entire US mainland.

The test was conducted at around 7:10 a.m. Thursday in Pyongyang on an elevated trajectory. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed “great satisfaction” with the missile’s performance. North Korean media emphasised the Hwasong-19 as “the primary core means in defending the DPRK, thoroughly containing the enemies’ acts of aggression and reliably protecting national security.”

Meanwhile, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi discussed the launch in a phone call and issued a joint statement that “strongly condemned” the launch. In a statement issued Thursday, the three countries called the missile test a “flagrant violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions.”

RELATED ARTICLES

Most Popular