WARNING SHOT BY N. KOREA
2nd ICBM ‘menaces’ US
North Korea on Friday fired its second intercontinental ballistic missile, which landed in Japanese waters.
The ICBM flew for about 45 minutes, reaching a height of about 2,300 miles before crashing 625 miles away in the Sea of Japan in the country’s Economic Exclusion Zone.
“The North American Aerospace Defense Command [NORAD] determined the missile launch from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America,” said Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman. He said the first US confirmation of the test occurred while the missile was still in flight after the late-night launch.
North Korea usually fires its missiles shortly after dawn.
If the ICBM had been launched on a trajectory that maximized its range, it could have flown 6,500 miles — putting the Big Apple at risk, an expert told The Washington Post.
“Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago appear to be well within range of this missile, and Boston and New York may be just within range,” said David Wright, co-director of the global security program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in rushed to convene emergency meetings.
“We will immediately analyze information and do our utmost to protect the safety of the Japanese people,” Abe said.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the launch was unacceptable and in clear violation of UN resolutions.
“We cannot tolerate North Korea’s repeated provocations like this,” Suga said. “We have made a strong protest to North Korea and condemned this act in the strongest terms.”
Davis stressed that the US “commitment to the defense of our allies, including the Republic of Korea and Japan, in the face of these threats, remains ironclad.”
“We remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies from any attack or provocation,” he said.
North Korean despot Kim Jong-un (inset) has repeatedly said he wants a nuclear-tipped missile that can reach the US.
“Kim Jong-un does seem hellbent on acquiring the capability to reach the United States with nuclear weapons,” Sharon Squassoni, director of the Proliferation Prevention Program at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, told The Washington Post.
The Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency estimates that North Korea will be able to field a reliable, nuclear-capable ICBM as early as next year.