- By Tiffany Wertheimer
- BBC News
February 18, 2023 at 12:02 p.m. GMT
Updated 24 minutes ago
Image source, Getty Images
picture description,
In North Korea, the missile test was shown on television
North Korea launched an ICBM on Saturday in a “surprise exercise” to confirm the weapon’s reliability, state media said.
It flew over 900 km (560 miles) in 67 minutes and landed in the Sea of Japan.
Pyongyang said the test showed it was capable of countering hostile forces like the US and South Korea.
It comes next month ahead of joint exercises between Washington and Seoul designed to help ward off North Korea’s mounting nuclear threats.
Authorities in Pyongyang have threatened to unleash “unprecedentedly severe” retaliation for such drills – which they insist they are being conducted in preparation for the invasion of North Korea.
This was reiterated early Sunday by Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who said any hostile action would meet with a “strong and overwhelming” response. She also called on the US to end what she called “threats” against the regime.
However, she added that the South Korean capital Seoul is not being attacked by North Korean missiles.
On Friday, North Korea demonstrated its massive military might in a parade attended by more than a dozen ICBMs.
Saturday’s rocket, the first since the New Year, fell at 18:27 (09:27 GMT) west of Hokkaido in Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said. An EEZ is an area of sea under the jurisdiction of a state. Japan is 200 nautical miles off its coast.
It reached an altitude of 5,700 km, government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said in Tokyo. While that’s incredibly high – the edge of space is about 100 km – it’s not the highest a North Korean rocket has flown.
In November, an ICBM reached an altitude of 6,100 km. Earlier, in January 2022, North Korea released extraordinary photos of Earth, which it claimed were from a rocket launch that reached 2,000 km.
ICBMs are of particular concern because of their long range, including the United States.
Japan’s Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu said Saturday’s missile could have done so, with a potential range of 14,000 km.
“This series of actions by North Korea threatens the peace and stability of Japan and the international community and is absolutely unforgivable,” Mr. Matsuno said.
North Korea’s “reckless behavior” has been condemned by G7 foreign ministers attending a summit in Germany. In a statement, they said it “threatens regional and international peace and security” and that the UN Security Council must take more significant action against Pyongyang.
South Korea’s military said the missile was fired from Sunan District north of Pyongyang, where the international airport is located. This is also where North Korea launched most of its recent ICBM tests.
North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs are banned by the UN Security Council. But that hasn’t stopped Pyongyang from continuing its weapons development and holding elaborate military parades to demonstrate them.