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| A U.S. B-1B Lancer strategic bomber and other combat aircraft conduct a joint exercise with the Republic of Korea Air Force in unspecified South Korean skies, Sunday. Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense |
Pyongyang tests nuclear-capable ICBM that could hit US mainland
By Jung Min-ho
A video of North Korea's latest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test, captured by a camera in Japan, suggests it is on the verge of, if not already, mastering atmospheric reentry ― a technology required to strike the U.S. mainland with a nuclear-tipped ICBM.
North Korea said Sunday that it test-launched an ICBM the previous day as a warning to the U.S., signaling that it will take more steps to strengthen its "second-strike capability" against the use of nuclear weapons by "hostile forces."
In response, South Korea and the U.S. conducted a joint air exercise involving U.S. B-1B Lancer long-range, supersonic heavy bombers as well as other combat aircraft in a show of force and their "overwhelming" defense capabilities.
A video released by the NHK station from Hakodate City in northern Japan shows the missile vehicle possibly with some damage as it descends while giving off light and a smoke trail ― similar to successful ICBM tests conducted in the past by the U.S. and Russia ― after its reentry into the Earth's atmosphere.
Shin Jong-woo, a senior analyst at the Korea Defense and Security Forum, a think tank, said that the signs are sufficient to invalidate previous claims that the North does not yet have the technology needed to protect its warheads from the extreme conditions of atmospheric reentry.
"The big size of the missile vehicle, captured by a camera about 400 kilometers away, suggests that it was able to endure the extreme heat and pressure. It looks larger than the one captured by a camera 260 kilometers away following North Korea's test in 2017," Shin told The Korea Times. "If North Korea does not have the technology, it appears to be in the final stage of acquiring it."
The missile, which was launched at the airport in Pyongyang, is believed to have a range of more than 14,000 kilometers ― enough to reach most big cities in the U.S. and Europe. According to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), it flew 989 kilometers for 4,015 seconds, reaching an apogee of 5,768.5 kilometers, and landed in the international waters of the East Sea.
It marked North Korea's first ICBM launch since last November when it fired a Hwasong-17.
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| A Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile is launched at Pyongyang International Airport in North Korea, Saturday, in this photo released the following day by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap |
Pyongyang justified the test by criticizing Washington and Seoul for planning major combined military drills, including a tabletop exercise at the Pentagon next week.
In a separate statement, Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, warned the allies against proceeding with the drills. She also made it clear that the primary target of North Korea's ICBMs is the U.S.
"I warn that we will watch every movement of the enemy and take corresponding and very powerful and overwhelming counteraction against its every move hostile to us," she said.
The same day, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, who was attending an international security conference in the German city of Munich, had an emergency meeting with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts ― Antony Blinken and Hayashi Yoshimasa, respectively. They jointly condemned the provocation and vowed to strengthen cooperation to counter such threats.
"North Korea will face more powerful sanctions from the international community," Park said. "We urge the North to stop its provocations immediately and return to denuclearization talks."
Analysts say North Korea is likely to step up efforts to develop its ICBM capabilities further. The latest test was guided by the Missile General Bureau, a new unit thought to be created in the direction of that policy.
One of its open goals is to build a solid-fuel ICBM, which would be more reliable, mobile and harder to detect before its launch.
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