N. Korea missile test has major US cities in range
This July 28, 2017 picture released by Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency on July 29, 2017 shows the intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 being launched at an undisclosed place in North Korea.
SEOUL (Reuters) — North Korea said yesterday it had conducted another successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that proved its ability to strike all of America’s mainland, drawing a sharp warning from US President Donald Trump and a rebuke from China.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un personally supervised the midnight launch of the missile on Friday and said it was a “stern warning” for the US that it would not be safe from destruction if it tries to attack, the North’s official
KCNA news agency said. North Korea’s state television broadcast pictures of the launch, showing the missile lifting off in a fiery blast in darkness and Kim cheering with military aides.
“The test-fire reconfirmed the reliability of the ICBM system, demonstrated the capability of making a surprise launch of the ICBM in any region and place any time, and clearly proved that the whole US mainland is in the firing range of the DPRK missiles, (Kim) said with pride,”
KCNA said. DPRK is short for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Independent weapons experts said the launch demonstrated many part of the US were within range if the missile had been launched at a flattened trajectory.
The US-based Union of Concerned Scientists said its calculations showed the missile could have been capable of going as far as Denver in Colorado and Chicago in Illinois.
The launch comes less than a month after the North conducted its first ICBM test in defiance of years of efforts led by the US, South Korea and Japan to rein in Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons ambitions.
The North conducted its fourth and fifth nuclear test last year and has engaged in an unprecedented pace of missile development that experts said significantly advanced its ability to launch longer-range ballistic missiles.
“By threatening the world, these weapons and tests further isolate North Korea, weaken its economy, and deprive its people,” Trump said in a statement. “The United States will take all necessary steps to ensure the security of the American homeland and protect our allies in the region.”
China, the North’s main ally, said it opposed North Korea’s “launch activities that run counter to Security Council resolutions and the common wishes of the international community.”
A foreign ministry statement added: “At the same time, China hopes all parties act with caution, to prevent tensions from continuing to escalate, to jointly protect regional peace and stability.”
Early yesterday, the US and South Korea conducted a livefire ballistic missile exercise in a display of firepower in response to the missile launch, the US and South Korean militaries said.
The top US military official, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford, and Admiral Harry Harris, commander of US Pacific Command, spoke by phone with the top South Korean military official, Gen. Lee Sun-jin, to discuss military response options to the launch.
The Trump administration has said that all options are on the table to deal with North Korea. However it has also made clear that diplomacy and sanctions are its preferred course.
The foreign ministers of South Korea, Japan and the US held separate phone calls and agreed to step up strategic deterrence against the North and push for a stronger UN Security Council sanctions resolution, the South and Japan said.
South Korea has also said it will proceed with the deployment of four additional units of the US THAAD anti-missile defense system that President Moon Jae-in has earlier delayed for an environmental assessment.
The missile test came a day after the US Senate approved a package of sanctions on North Korea, Russia and Iran.