North Korea claimed it carried out a successful test of an intercontinental ballistic test on Tuesday, heralding a sweeping shift in the regional security landscape and posing a critical test for President Moon Jae-in’s pursuit of denuclearization dialogue.
The Hwasong 14 hit an altitude of 2,800 kilometers and flew northwest about 930 kilometers after being lifted off at 9:39 a.m., with leader Kim Jong-un himself monitoring the experiment on the scene, the official Korean Central Television said. That means it may be capable of traveling far more than 8,000 kilometers if fired on a range-maximizing ballistic trajectory.
“Our scientists successfully conducted a test-fire of the newly developed Hwasong 14, according to our comrade Kim Jong-un’s strategic decision,” the broadcaster said.
The North’s claim was generally in line with the assessment by South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, which said the projectile was fired at around 9:40 a.m. from Banghyeon, North Pyongan Province, and traveled some 930 kilometers after reaching more than 2,300 kilometers in altitude.
But the JCS stressed that further analysis is needed to confirm whether the projectile is an ICBM-class missile, with Cheong Wa Dae saying the missile appeared to be “something between an intermediate range ballistic missile and ICBM,” and the US Pacific Command describing it as a “land-based IRBM.”
The test, which marks the sixth missile launch since Moon took office, dealt a blow to his vision for reconciliation with the Kim Jong-un regime through a restart of dialogue for a halt in its nuclear and missile tests. He returned home Sunday after a summit with US President Donald Trump, during which the commander in chief secured his counterpart’s support for his “phased, comprehensive approach” toward Pyongyang.
(Yonhap)
Presiding over a meeting of the National Security Council, Moon raised the possibility of an ICBM test, expressing “deep disappointment” and warning of “corresponding countermeasures.”
“I sincerely hope North Korea will not cross point of no return,” Moon said at his meeting with former UK Prime Minister David Cameron, urging the North to stop military provocations and return to the negotiating table.
“I express my deep disappointment and regret that North Korea staged such a provocation only a few days after President Trump and I urged North Korea to reduce its provocations, refrain from military action that causes instability, and make a strategic decision in accordance with its international obligations and regulations,” the president said at the NSC session.
Trump also expressed frustration over Pyongyang’s missile launch on Twitter. “North Korea has just launched another missile. Does this guy have anything better to do with his life?” he asked, referring to Kim.
China also condemned the latest launch, saying it constitutes a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions and other international bans on the regime’s ballistic missile tests.
The provocation coincided with a summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which they called for a resolution of the drawn-out nuclear standoff on the peninsula through dialogue.
“China opposes North Korea’s missile launches which breaches international regulations,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a news briefing in Beijing. “China urges North Korea to create the conditions necessary for a resumption of dialogue and stop violating UN Security Council resolutions.”
The missile test is the latest in a series of North Korean attempts to develop a nuclear-tipped ICBM capable of reaching the US mainland. In his New Year’s address in January, Kim said that the regime is “in the final stage” of an ICBM test.
Since then, the North has launched a series of newly introduced ballistic missiles with extended ranges, advanced engines and multiple platforms. Among them are the intermediate-range Hawsong 12, solid-fueled Pukguksong-2 and Scud-type missiles targeting US warships.
The most significant breakthrough was shown in the Hwasong 12, a single-stage ballistic missile which flew 787 kilometers, after being fired on a lofted trajectory with apogee of 2,111.5 kilometers. Analysts suggested that the projectile could have flown about 5,000 km if fired on a range-maximizing ballistic trajectory.
“North Korea’s ultimate purpose with the Hwasong 12 was to target Alaska and Hawaii. I think today’s test is the North’s attempt to prove its claim,” said Kim Dong-yup, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Far East Institute.
By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com) and Yeo Jun-suk (
jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)