N. fires missile
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired an apparent ballistic missile today off its east coast that landed in the waters of Japan’s economic zone, South Korean and Japanese officials said, the latest in a string of recent test launches as the North seeks to build nuclear-tipped ICBMs that can reach the U.S. mainland.
A statement by the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launch came from around the eastern North Korean town of Wonsan. The agency said North Korea fired a suspected Scudtype ballistic missile that flew about 280 miles.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that what appeared to be a North Korean ballistic missile fell within Japan’s exclusive maritime economic zone. He said there was no immediate report of damage to planes or vessels in the area.
North Korea is still thought to be several years away from its goal of being able to target U.S. mainland cities with a nuclear ICBM, but each new test puts it closer to success. The North has a strong arsenal of short- and mediumrange missiles that target Japan and South Korea and U.S. forces in the region, and is working to perfect its longer-range missiles.
There was no immediate comment from North Korea’s state controlled media. But the launch followed a report from the North that said leader Kim Jong Un had watched a successful test of a new type of anti-aircraft guided weapon system. It wasn’t clear from the report when the test happened.
After the test, Kim said the weapon system’s ability to detect and track targets had “remarkably” improved and its accuracy also increased, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA cited Kim as ordering officials to mass-produce and deploy the system all over the country so as to “completely spoil the enemy’s wild dream to command the air.”
The North’s nuclear and missile programs are perhaps the biggest foreign policy challenges to the new leaders in allies Washington and Seoul.
President Trump’s administration is working to solidify a policy to deal with North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
A new liberal president in Seoul, Moon Jae-in, has signaled he will be flexible in expanding civilian exchange with North Korea. But many analysts say Moon likely won’t push for any major rapprochement projects because North Korea has gone too far on its nuclear program. Today’s missile launch was the third one by North Korea since Moon’s inauguration on May 10.