Much of U.S. now in N. Korea missile range
Experts say latest test shows ICBM could reach Chicago, Los Angeles, Western Canada
PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA— North Korea on Friday test-fired its second intercontinental ballistic missile, which flew longer and higher than the first according to its wary neighbours, leading analysts to conclude that a wide swath of North America, including Los Angeles, Chicago and all of Western Canada, is now within range of Pyongyang’s weapons. Japanese government spokesperson Yoshihide Suga said the missile, launched late Friday night, flew for about 45 minutes — about five minutes longer than the ICBM North Korea test-fired on July 4.
The missile was launched on a high trajectory, which limited the distance it travelled, and landed west of Japan’s island of Hokkaido.
“We assess that this missile was an intercontinental ballistic missile, as had been expected,” Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said in Washington.
Analysts had estimated that the first ICBM could have reached Alaska, and said Friday that the latest missile appeared to extend that range significantly.
David Wright, a physicist and codirector of the global security program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in Washington that if reports of the missile’s maximum altitude and flight time are correct, it would have a theoretical range of at least 10,400 kilometres. That means it could have reached Toronto, Montreal and all of Western Canada, as well as much of the U.S., including Los Angeles, Denver and Chicago, depending on variables such as the size and weight of warheads.
Bruce Klingner, a Korean and Japanese affairs specialist at the Heritage Foundation think-tank in Washington, said, “It now appears that a significant portion of the continental United States is within range” of North Korean missiles.
Washington and its allies have watched with concern as Pyongyang has made significant progress toward its goal of having all of the U.S. within range of its missiles to counter what it labels as U.S. aggression.
There are other hurdles, including building nuclear warheads to fit on those missiles and ensuring reliability. But many analysts have been surprised by how quickly leader Kim Jong Un has developed North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs despite UN Security Council sanctions that have squeezed the impoverished country’s economy.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will not allow North Korea to obtain an ICBM that can deliver a nuclear warhead.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the launch a “serious and real threat” to the country’s security.
Suga, the Japanese spokesman, said Japan has lodged a strong protest with North Korea.
Aspokesman for Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday that Dunford met at the Pentagon with the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, Adm. Harry Harris, to discuss U.S. military options in light of the missile test.
The spokesman, Navy Capt. Greg Hicks, said Dunford and Harris placed a phone call to Dunford’s South Korean counterpart, Gen. Lee Sun Jin. Dunford and Harris “expressed the ironclad commitment to the U.S.-Republic of Korea alliance,” Hicks said, referring to the U.S. defence treaty that obliges the U.S. to defend South Korea.
Prime Minister Abe said Japan would co-operate closely with the U.S., South Korea and other nations to step up pressure on North Korea to halt its missile programs.
South Korean President Moon Jaein presided over an emergency meeting of the National Security Council, which called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council and stronger sanctions on North Korea.
There was no immediate confirmation of the launch by North Korea.
July 27 is a holiday in North Korea called Victory in the Fatherland Liberation War Day, marking when the armistice was signed ending the 1950-53 Korean War. That armistice is yet to be replaced with a peace treaty, leaving the Korean Peninsula technically in a state of war.
North Korea generally waits hours or sometimes a day or more before announcing launches, often with photos in the ruling party newspaper or on the TV news. Leader Kim Jong Un is usually shown at the site to supervise major launches.