North Korea tests missile that can potentially hit US
This is country’s first intercontinental ballistic missile
Does this guy have anything better to do with his life? Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all DONALD TRUMP, US President, on Twitter
SEOUL: North Korea on Tuesday claimed it successfully testlaunched its first intercontinental ballistic missile, a gamechanging development in what may be the world’s most dangerous nuclear standoff and, if true, a direct rebuke to US President Donald Trump’s earlier declaration that such a test “won’t happen!”
The launch appeared to be North Korea’s most successful missile test yet. A US scientist examining the height and distance said the missile could potentially be powerful enough to reach Alaska. US, South Korean and Japanese officials earlier assessed that the North fired an intermediate-range missile into waters near Japan.
North Korea has previously launched satellites in what critics said were disguised tests of its long-range missile technology. A test-launch of an ICBM, however, would be a major step in developing nuclear-armed missiles that could reach anywhere in the US.
The launch came on the eve of the US Independence Day holiday, days after the first face-toface meeting of the leaders of South Korea and the US, and ahead of a global summit of the world’s richest economies.
US, South Korean and Japanese officials say it flew for about 40 minutes and reached an altitude of 2,500 km, which would be longer and higher than any similar North Korean test previously reported. It also covered a distance of about 930 km.
North Korea said the missile flew as high as 2,802 km before hitting a designated target in the ocean about 933 km away from the launch site in the country’s northwest. It said the missile flew for about 39 minutes and was made at the highest possible angle. Russia’s military, however, said the missile flew considerably shorter and lower than others reported.
Soon after the morning launch, President Trump responded on Twitter: “North Korea has just launched another missile. Does this guy have anything better to do with his life? Hard to believe that South Korea and Japan will put up with this much longer. Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!”
“This guy” presumably refers to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. China is North Korea’s economic lifeline and only major ally, and the Trump administration is pushing Beijing to do more to push the North toward disarmament.
China and Russia proposed on Tuesday that North Korea declare a moratorium on nuclear and missile tests while the US and South Korea refrain from largescale joint military exercises. North Korea views the exercises as preparation for an invasion and has repeatedly demanded their cancellation. It says it needs nuclear weapons and powerful missiles to cope with what it calls rising US military threats.
The Chinese and Russian foreign ministries issued the proposal in a joint statement after talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. They urged other nations to create a “peaceful atmosphere of mutual trust” to encourage talks on commitments not to use force and to make the Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons.