North Korea fires suspected ICBM with range to hit all of U.S.

North Korea fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile Friday, the South Korean and Japanese governments said.

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile Friday, the South Korean and Japanese governments said, one that the Japanese defense minister said has the potential to reach the entire continental United States.

The launch would be North Korea’s second test this month of an ICBM, which are designed to deliver nuclear weapons. It came a day after the North vowed “fiercer” military responses to Washington’s enhanced regional security presence.

The White House quickly condemned the launch, saying it would “take all necessary measures” to guarantee the security of the U.S. and its allies South Korea and Japan. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is in Bangkok for a regional forum, said the launch was a “brazen violation” of United Nations Security Council resolutions and called on North Korea to “stop further unlawful, destabilizing acts.”

The United States and South Korea conducted joint air force drills on Friday in response to North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.Courtesy South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff The U.S. and South Korea responded to the launch by holding joint air force drills involving advanced F-35A fighter jets, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The U.S. and Japan also held a joint air force drill.

South Korea said the suspected ICBM was launched from the Soonan area in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, toward the country’s eastern waters around 10:15 a.m. (8:15 p.m. Thursday ET).

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/north-korea-fires-suspected-icbm-rcna57814

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