North Korea says 'SUCCESSFUL TEST' of intercontinental ballistic missile; capable of striking 'ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD'

• Published Jul 4, 2017 3:33 PM KST
• Updated Jul 4, 2017 3:33 PM KST

By Park Si-soo

North Korea said it successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday -- a watershed moment in its decades-long push to develop a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States.

It said the Hwasong-14 missile flew a trajectory that military experts said could allow a weapon to hit the U.S. state of Alaska. The reclusive state said the missile reached a cruising altitude of 2,802 kilometers and flew 933 kilometers before landing in the East Sea.

The announcement came hours after North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from an airfield in Panghyon, about 100 kilometers northwest of the North's capital, Pyongyang, Tuesday morning.

“The test launch was conducted at the sharpest angle possible and did not have any negative effect on neighboring countries," North Korea’s major news presenter Lee Chun-hee said smiling, in what North Korea said was an “important announcement” made at 3:30 p.m.

“The test was conducted under the supervision of leader Kim Jong-un, and it was capable of hitting anywhere in the world.”

The presenter said the Hwasong-14 missile reached an altitude of 2,802 kilometers (1,741 miles) and hit its target precisely after flying for 39 minutes.

It was believed to be the North’s most successful missile test in its push for nuclear weapons capable of hitting any part of the United States.

Japan's defense ministry said the missile “greatly exceeded” an altitude of 2,500 kilometers and flew 930 kilometers before landing in Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Tuesday's launch came days before a summit of G20 leaders in Hamburg, Germany, and a day after U.S. President Donald Trump called China's President Xi Jinping and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss the nuclear threat from Pyongyang.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has turned to Beijing for help in reining in North Korea, sent a series of tweets after the launch, apparently ridiculing his North Korean counterpart and urging China to do more.

“North Korea has just launched another missile. Does this guy have anything better to do with his life?” Trump wrote.

“Hard to believe that South Korea and Japan will put up with this much longer. Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!"