N. Korea's new ICBM can hit any target in US

By Jun Ji-hye

North Korea launched an apparent new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) early Wednesday that reached an altitude of about 4,500 kilometers and traveled 960 kilometers before falling into the East Sea inside Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone.

The missile launch, which broke a 75-day lull in the North's provocations, drew strong condemnation from South Korea as well as the international community.

President Moon Jae-in speaks with U.S. President Donald Trump via phone from Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday, after North Korea launched what it claimed was a new intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching all parts of the U.S. mainland. The two heads of state agreed to maintain maximum pressure and sanctions on Pyongyang. / Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae

The provocation is likely to escalate tension on the Korean Peninsula further and dash hopes for a negotiated solution to the North's nuclear and missile development programs. The international community is expected to impose harsher sanctions against Pyongyang.

Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the missile was launched at 3:17 a.m. from Pyongsong, South Pyongan Province, 30 kilometers north of Pyongyang.

Hours after the launch, the North issued a statement, saying a test of the new "Hwasong-15" ICBM was successfully carried out.

The statement, carried by the state-run Korea Central News Agency (KCNA), said the missile reached a maximum altitude of 4,475 kilometers, while flying 960 kilometers in 53 minutes along a preset trajectory.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who observed the test, declared that the North has "finally realized the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force, the cause of building a rocket power," according to the KCNA.

"The ICBM Hwasong-15 type weaponry system is an intercontinental ballistic rocket tipped with super-large heavy warhead which is capable of striking the entire mainland of the U.S.," the statement said.

It added the new system has much greater advantages in its tactical and technological characteristics than the Hwasong-14 missile tested in July.

The repressive state launched Hwasong-14s twice, July 4 and 28. The first one flew 933 kilometers in 39 minutes and reached an altitude of 2,802 kilometers, while the second one flew 998 kilometers in 47 minutes after reaching an altitude of 3,724 kilometers.

Defense analysts said the North's latest test appeared to be its longest yet, noting that if the missile had been fired on a standard trajectory, rather than a lofted one, it could have flown more than 10,000 kilometers, which is, in theory, enough to reach the U.S. mainland.

"If flown on a standard trajectory rather than this lofted trajectory, this missile would have a range of more than 13,000 kilometers," said David Wright, a co-director of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "This is significantly longer than North Korea's previous long-range tests."

Soon after the test, President Moon Jae-in presided over a National Security Council meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, during which he strongly denounced the North for its "military brinkmanship."

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"North Korea must stop making reckless choices that will only lead to its isolation and collapse," Moon said, urging the Kim regime to come to the negotiation table.

"The government will never sit back and watch these provocations," he said.

Moon also held a telephone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump, agreeing to maintain maximum pressure and sanctions on Pyongyang, according to presidential spokesman Park Soo-hyun.

The White House said, "President Trump and President Moon reaffirmed their strong condemnation of North Korea's reckless campaign to advance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, noting that these weapons only serve to undermine North Korea's security and deepen its diplomatic and economic isolation."

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis expressed greater concerns, saying, "It went higher, frankly, than any previous shot they've taken," during his participation in a budget meeting at the White House.

"The bottom line is, it's a continued effort to build a threat _ a ballistic missile threat that endangers world peace, regional peace, and certainly, the United States," Mattis said.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called an emergency Cabinet meeting, saying the North's provocations would never be tolerated.

Later in the day, Moon and Abe spoke on the phone, expressing concerns over the North's claim that it has almost perfected its nuclear and missile program, according to Moon's chief press secretary Yoon Young-chan.

Moon and Abe agreed to cooperate in pressuring Pyongyang further, alongside the international community, so that the Kim regime will eventually abandon its nuclear ambitions, Yoon said.

"President Moon told Prime Minister Abe that he will strongly ask Chinese President Xi Jinping to play a greater role in resolving the North Korean issue when visiting Beijing next month," Yoon said, adding that Abe had also stressed China's role.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a press briefing that his country is totally opposed to the North's repeated launch of ballistic missiles, saying these activities are clearly in defiance of U.N. resolutions.

"China urges North Korea to comply with the resolutions and stop behavior that heightens tension on the Korean Peninsula," he said.

Meanwhile, a JCS official in Seoul told reporters that the South Korean military conducted a joint live-fire missile exercise near the Northern Limit Line in the East Sea involving the Army, Navy and Air Force minutes after the North launched its ICBM.

"We are enhancing our surveillance and readiness posture in preparation for additional provocations," the official said.

The JCS said the North's latest provocation seemed intended as a protest against diplomatic and economic pressure from the international community, including the U.S. decision to put Pyongyang back on its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

The provocation also seemed intended to solidify the North Korean system following the Nov. 13 defection of a soldier through the Joint Security Area at the truce village of Panmunjeom, the JCS added.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council plans to convene an emergency meeting as early as Thursday to discuss its response to the latest missile test.