North Korea confirmed on Wednesday that successfully tested its new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, the country’s official media said, in a context of growing tension and days after the government threatened to shoot down American spy planes.
The official KCNA press agency detailed that the Hwasong-18, a new solid fuel projectile that had been tested in April, traveled 1,001 kilometers reaching a maximum height of 6,648 kilometers before falling into the Sea of Japan.
The flight time of about 70 minutes was similar to that of other intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) shots practiced by North Korea, said experts quoted by the AFP agency.
The fact, confirmed hours after the South Korean Army warned about the imminence of the launch, was supervised by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, produced a “big explosion” that shook “the entire planet,” KCNA said.
Two days ago, North Korea accused the United States of violating its airspace with spy planes and condemned its plans to deploy submarine nuclear missiles near the peninsula.
The agency also said Kim promised a “series of stronger military offensives” until the United States and South Korea change their policies.
Relations between the two Koreas are in one of his worst momentswithout diplomatic contacts and with a persistent increase in weapons tests North, after Kim called for further development of his nuclear arsenal.
United States and South Korea, for their parthave increased their military maneuvers joint in the area and promised to end the North Korean regime if he used his nuclear weapons.
North Korea has technically been at war with the United States and South Korea since the Korean War (1950-1953) ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
North Korea developed ypstole atomic weapons since the 2000s on the grounds that you need them to deter an eventual invasion US, which has 28,500 troops in South Korea.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that detected the launch of a ballistic missile apparently long-range around 10 from the area of Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.
North Korea used on several occasionss these pitches with a more vertical trajectory to prevent the projectile from crossing the airspace of neighboring countries.
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The South Korean military command described the shot as “serious provocation that harms peace and security in the peninsula“considered to be in violation of UN sanctions against Pyongyang.
Washington also condemned the test.
“This launch is a blatant violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, unnecessarily escalates tensions and threatens to destabilize the security situation in the region,” US National Security Council spokesman Adam Hodge said in a statement. .
The last time the communist country fired one of its intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICMB) was in April.
Two days ago, North Korea accused the United States of violating its airspace with spy planes and condemned its plans to deploy submarine nuclear missiles near the peninsula.
A spokesman for the North Korean Ministry of National Defense said the United States had intensified espionage activities beyond wartime levels and that could lead to further incidents.
The shooting coincides with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s attendance at a NATO summit this week in Lithuania, where he seeks to strengthen cooperation with the alliance in the face of the North Korean military threat, the presidential office in Seoul said.
