NORTH KOREA LAUNCHES 3 MISSILES AS BIDEN ENDS TRIP TO ASIA

North Korea testlaunched a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile and two shorter-range weapons into the sea today, South Korea said, hours after President Joe Biden ended a trip to Asia where he reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to defend its allies in the face of the North’s nuclear threat.

If confirmed, it would be North Korea’s first ICBM launch in about two months. Breaking its 2018 moratorium on long-distance launches, North Korea in March claimed to have testlaunched its longest-range missile as part of its development of functioning nuclear-armed missiles that can reach the American homeland.

After an emergency national security council meeting, the South Korean government said the three weapons fired by North Korea included a suspected ICBM and two short-range ballistic missiles.

“North Korea’s sustained provocations can only result in stronger and faster South Korea-U.S. combined deterrence and can only deepen North Korea’s international isolation,” the South Korean government statement said. “(Our) government is maintaining constant readiness to strongly and effectively respond to any kind of North Korean provocation.”

South Korea’s military said the suspected ICBM reached a maximum height of 335 miles while traveling 223 miles east after being fired from the North’s capital region. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North apparently lost the second missile 12 miles into flight, while the third missile f lew 472 miles on an apogee of 37 miles.

A JCS statement said the U.S. and South Korean militaries fired two surface-tosurface missiles in response to the North Korean launches to demonstrate the allies’ striking capabilities. It said the allies had detected North Korea’s preparations for the launches in advance.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command earlier said the missile launches highlight “the destabilizing impact of (North Korea’s) illicit weapons program” though they didn’t pose an immediate threat to U.S. territory and its allies. A command statement said the U.S. commitment to the defense of the South Korea and Japan “remains ironclad.”

The White House said Biden has been briefed on the North Korean missile launches and will continue to be briefed as information develops.