Accra, Nov. 18 (BBC/GNA) – North Korea has launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with sufficient range to hit the US mainland, Japan’s defence minister says.
The missile landed in the sea roughly 210km (130 miles) west of Hokkaido.
The US has condemned the launch, while South Korea has ordered stronger deterrence measures against the North.
On Thursday North Korean FM Choe Son Hui warned of a “fiercer” response to any increased US military presence.
It also launched a short range ballistic missile the same day.
That followed Sunday’s meeting between South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, US President Joe Biden and Japan’s PM Fumio Kishida in Cambodia.
On Friday US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said Mr Biden had been briefed and the US would consult with partners.
North Korea has fired more than 50 missiles over the past two months, most of them short-range. These long-range launches are rarer, and pose a direct threat to the US, as the missiles are designed to carry nuclear warheads to anywhere on the US mainland.
The latest suspected ICBM was fired at 10:15 local time (02:15 GMT) from near the North Korean capital Pyongyang, military chiefs in Seoul said.
It reached an altitude of 6,100km on a lofted trajectory and travelled 1,000km (621 miles), reaching a speed of Mach 22, South Korea’s military said.
GNA
Credit: BBC