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North Korea fires missile in direction of Japan, reports say North Korea issues challenge to Trump by firing new missile into Sea of Japan
(35 minutes later)
Japan’s prime minister has said North Korea fired what is believed to be a missile that may have landed in the sea off Japan. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has issued a fresh challenge to Donald Trump, firing what military officials in the US and South Korea identified as a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan.
Shinzo Abe told reporters that officials were analysing the apparent launch, just before midnight on Friday, and that he had called a meeting of the national security council. The launch, late on Friday – which came less than a month after Pyongyang claimed to have tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) – took place in North Korea’s Chagang province, towards the border with China, at about 11.41pm local time, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said.
“I have received information that North Korea once again conducted a missile firing,” he said. “We will immediately analyze information and do our utmost to protect the safety of the Japanese people.” US officials told NBC the missile had flown for about 1,000km and had landed within Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
There was no immediate announcement of the type of missile. On 4 July, Pyongyang triggered global alarm with the test-launch of its first intercontinental ballistic missile. “We assess that this missile was an intercontinental ballistic missile, as had been expected,” Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said in a statement. “The missile was launched from Mupyong-ni and traveled about 1,000 km before splashing down in the Sea of Japan. We are working with our interagency partners on a more detailed assessment,” he said.
Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said that the missile flew for about 45 minutes and appeared to have landed in the waters off Japan’s exclusive economic zone, but that there were no immediate reports of damage. Davis said America’s commitment to defending its regional allies from North Korean threats “remains ironclad”. “We remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies from any attack or provocation.”
Suga added that the missile launch was unacceptable and in clear violation of United Nations resolutions, and said Japan had protested in the strongest possible terms. “North Korea’s repeated provocative acts absolutely cannot be accepted,” he said. Japan led condemnation of North Korea’s latest launch, which appeared to have been timed to mark commemorations of the end of Korean war in 1953.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK said the coast guard had issued safety warnings to aircraft and ships. “This clearly shows the threat to our nation’s safety is severe and real,” said prime minister, Shinzo Abe, vowing to do “our utmost to protect the safety of the Japanese people”.
Pentagon spokesman Lt Col Christopher Logan confirmed that the United States had detected the launch of a ballistic missile from North Korea. He added: “We are currently assessing all the data and we will have more information soon.” “We cannot accept these repeated provocations by North Korea,” Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, told reporters, adding that the missile had flown for about 45 minutes.
Earlier this week, US officials said that they had detected signs of preparation for a new missile launch, which they thought would be of either an intermediate-range missile or North Korea’s ICBM – known as a KN-20 or a Hwasong-14. South Korean president Moon Jae-in chaired an national security council meeting in the early hours of Saturday. Pentagon spokesman Chris Logan said US officials had detected the launch of a ballistic missile from North Korea.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who personally oversaw the 4 July launch, described it as a gift to the “American bastards.” Beijing offered no immediate reaction but Lü Chao, a Chinese North Korea expert, told the state-run Global Times newspaper that his government would “firmly oppose the launch since it intensified regional tension … and jeopardised the situation in north-east Asia”.
The US military had expected that a missile would occur on Thursday, which was the 64th anniversary of the signing of the Korean armistice agreement. North Korea’s latest missile test came hours after Kim Jong-un had visited a military cemetery to mark the 64th anniversary of the 1953 armistice.
The test raised tensions in the region, pitting Washington, Tokyo and Seoul against China, Pyongyang’s last remaining major ally. A test had been expected to mark that anniversary. However, Melissa Hanham, an expert in North Korea’s missile program from the James Martin center for nonproliferation studies, said the timing and the location of the launch were highly unusual.
After the test, the United States launched a push at the United Nations for tougher measures against Pyongyang. Pyongyang usually conducted such tests shortly after dawn, not late at night, and has not previously launched a missile from Chagang province.
In all, six sets of UN sanctions have been imposed on North Korea since it first tested an atomic device in 2006, but two resolutions adopted last year significantly toughened the sanctions regime. Details of the launch remained sketchy but Hanham said she suspected the missile being tested was the same Hwasong-14 projectile that Kim Jong-un’s regime had launched on 4 July.
There was no immediate confirmation of the launch by North Korea. The day’s broadcast on state-run television had already ended when the news broke at around midnight Pyongyang time. “That test showed that Alaska was in range … [and] my preliminary guess its that they are now testing this missile to see whether it can go further. We need to get all the data points to be able to calculate the range curve but it is possible that they are trying to demonstrate that indeed New York is not that far away.”
North Korea generally waits hours or sometimes a day or more before announcing launches, often with a raft of photos in the ruling party newspaper or on the television news. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is usually shown at the site to observe and supervise major launches. A range of 9,500-10,000km – which a 45-minute flight time suggested was possible – “takes it to New York”, Hanham pointed out.
Meanwhile, the US military is preparing to conduct another test of a missile-intercept system in Alaska, perhaps as soon as Saturday. Analysts remain skeptical as to whether North Korea has the ability to miniaturise a nuclear weapon that could be fired on such a missile. Even so, the launch is the latest reminder of Trump’s failure to advance in his bid to rein in Kim Jong-un’s nuclear ambitions.
That test of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system had been scheduled before Friday’s developments. Experts say the US president had hoped to form a “big marriage” with China, which would have seen the world’s top two economies tackle Pyongyang together, with Beijing putting economic pressure on its ally.
More details soon ... However, Chinese president Xi Jinping, fearing the impact the collapse of Kim’s regime would have on China, has appeared unwilling to enter into such a partnership. Following North Korea’s ICBM test in early July, Beijing rejected Trump’s calls for it to do more, claiming the “China responsibility theory” had to stop.
Pyongyang, meanwhile, has continued its rhetorical war against Washington. “If enemies misunderstand our strategic status and stick to options of staging a pre-emptive nuclear attack against us, we will launch a nuclear attack on America’s heart as the most relentless punishment without warning or prior notice,” the head of North Korea’s armed forces, Pak Yong-sik, told state media earlier this week.
Hanham said Friday night’s test would be a major headache for a White House already reeling from the dramatic defeat of the Obamacare repeal bill that morning.
“Washington is very busy with other things right now unfortunately. The healthcare vote was an incredible blow to the Republican party. I suspect that many in office are licking their wounds today,” she said. “The US state department is not fully staffed. I don’t think they are staffed up for this event.”