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North Korea Launches Ballistic Missile, the Pentagon Says North Korea Launches Ballistic Missile, the Pentagon Says
(about 1 hour later)
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said on Friday that it had detected a ballistic missile launch from North Korea and was assessing the situation. SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea launched a missile on Friday that was in the air for 45 minutes before landing off Hokkaido, the northernmost Japanese island, officials from the United States, South Korea and Japan reported.
The Pentagon did not say whether the missile was similar to Pyongyang’s test earlier this month of an intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-14. That missile demonstrated a range capable of reaching Alaska, experts said. The launching follows North Korea’s first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, on July 4. South Korean officials have said that in the July 4 test of the Hwasong-14, the North’s ICBM demonstrated a range capable of reaching Alaska, but that it remains unclear whether the North has mastered all technologies needed to deliver a nuclear warhead to targets in the continental United States.
The opacity of the North Korean government makes it difficult to tell exactly how far its weapons programs have advanced, but experts believe it is not yet capable of making nuclear warheads small enough to be mounted on ICBMs. In Tokyo on Friday, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said the latest North Korean missile flew for about 45 minutes. The flight time suggests that the missile may have a range greater than any the North has tested previously.
When the North conducted its test on July 4, the Hwasong-14 flew about 39 minutes and for a distance of 578 horizontal miles, but it was launched at a highly lofted angle, reaching an altitude of 1,740 miles. Had it been launched on a standard trajectory, it would have flown around 4,200 miles, missile experts said.
In a report to the National Assembly earlier this month, the South Korean Defense Ministry said the Hwasong-14 could have a range of up to 4,970 miles, enough to hit Alaska and possibly Hawaii.
The South Korean military said that Friday’s missile was launched from a site in Jagang Province, a northern central area of North Korea bordering on China, at 11:41 p.m. on Friday. South Korea said it was analyzing data to determine what type of missile was used.
The Pentagon confirmed that it had detected a ballistic missile launching from North Korea and was assessing the situation.
In response to Friday’s test, President Moon Jae-in of South Korea and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan both called emergency meetings with their security advisers.
North Korea is a closed society, and the secrecy of its government makes it difficult to tell exactly how far its weapons programs have advanced, but experts believe it is not yet capable of making nuclear warheads small enough to be mounted on ICBMs.
North Korea is banned by the United Nations from developing or testing ballistic missiles.North Korea is banned by the United Nations from developing or testing ballistic missiles.