North Korea fires an intermediate-range missile, South Korea says
North Korea test-fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile toward waters off its eastern coast Tuesday, South Korea’s military said.
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea test-fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile toward waters off its eastern coast Tuesday, South Korea’s military said, as it pushes to advance its weapons aimed at remote U.S. targets in the Pacific.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was launched from an area near the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, and flew about 372 miles before landing in the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
Lee Sung Joon, spokesperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the launch most likely followed up on a North Korean test in March of a solid-fuel engine built for a new intermediate-range hypersonic missile it has been developing. If perfected, such weapons could reach the U.S. Pacific military hub of Guam and beyond, experts say.
Lee did not specify why the South Koreans were assessing the missile as an IRBM or whether it was flown at less than its capacity, but said the North Koreans were most likely experimenting with new warhead technologies.
Japan’s Defense Ministry gave more details in its assessment, saying the missile flew about 403 miles while reaching a maximum altitude of 62 miles before landing in waters outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. The Japanese military did not immediately say whether it assessed the missile as intermediate range or something else.
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