New N. Korea missile could reach U.S. capital

First test in 10 weeks has longest range

North Korea fired what appeared to be its longest-range intercontinental ballistic missile Wednesday, breaking a 10-week lull between test launches this year and dashing hopes that the country would curb its aggressive pur- suit of a nuclear weapon that could strike the U.S. mainland.

The missile flew 600 miles in a high trajectory but would have had a range of 8,100 miles had it flown in a flat trajectory, according to calculations by David Wright, an expert at the Union of Concerned Scientists. That would make it capable of reaching Washington, D.C.

The missile was launched from Sain Ni, near the capital of Pyongyang, and splashed down into the Sea of Japan, according to the Pentagon. The missile landed inside Japan’s Economic Exclusion Zone.

After the launch, President Trump said the United States “will take care of it. ... It is a situation that we will handle.”

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Trump was briefed “while (the) missile was still in the air.”

The State Department announced an international effort to step up pressure on North Korea that could include inter-

dicting ships carrying goods to and from that country. Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the joint U.S.-Canadian effort will include 16 countries. “We have always been very clear that we would be open to talks with North Korea. But North Korea is not showing it is willing to sit down and talk,” she said.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) determined the missile was not a threat to North America or U.S. territories.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the missile went higher than any previous test.

It is not clear whether North Korea has mastered the technology that would allow it to place a miniaturized nuclear warhead on an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Mattis said the latest test “endangers world peace, regional peace and certainly the United States.”

South Korea’s military responded by conducting its own shorter-range missile tests to mimic striking the North Korea launch site, the South Korean Yonhap news agency reported.

“We remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies from any attack or provocation,” said Col. Robert Manning, the Pentagon spokesman.

The launch came one day after reports that the Japanese government intercepted radio signals suggesting a launch appeared imminent.

It was the first launch since Sept. 15, when North Korea fired an intermediate ballistic missile that flew over Japan and into the northern Pacific.

The latest launch is the 16th test this year, a record for North Korea. It came amid heated rhetoric between Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, who have threatened to annihilate each other in response to a first strike.

Last week, the Trump administration reinstated North Korea on the list of countries that support terrorism.