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13-07-2023
PYONGYANG: Just days after threatening the US to shoot down its spy planes near its airspace, North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which flew around 74 minutes before landing in the sea, officials from Japan and South Korea said Wednesday, amid rising tensions in the region.
The ICBM was launched as Pyongyang had threatened the US that it would shoot down any of the spy places if it entered over its territory, which Washington has denied, saying its “military patrols are in accordance with international law.”
Last year, North Korea tested a record number of missiles including one which is capable to hit US territory.
Japanese Coast Guard said that North Korea’s missile Wednesday flew eastwards from Pyongyang for more than an hour before landing in the sea west of Japan around 11:15 local time (02:15 GMT).
South Korean military said that the high-angled flight covered a 1,000km (621 miles) distance.
The country has continued to test its weapons with the one ICBM which it said is the “most powerful” to date.
North Korea also attempted to launch a military satellite in space which failed in May.
After North Korea’s ICBM launch, South Korean and US officials met and issued a statement reiterating their “strengthened joint defense”.
“We strongly condemn North Korea’s launch of a long-range ballistic missile as a grave provocative act that harms the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and the international community and is a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions,” the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol also called an emergency meeting of his national security council from Lithuania, where he is participating in the NATO summit.
Pyongyang’s last test firing was in mid-June when it launched two short-range ballistic miles, responding to the US and South Korean drills. The last ICBM was tested in February.
Wednesday’s launch comes days after tensions with Washington touched a new high threatening the US to stop its air patrols and proposal for a nuclear submarine to visit Korean waters.
Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, claimed Monday that North Korea successfully repelled a US spy drone plane that was flying over nearby waters. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
