N. Korea fires ballistic missile toward East Sea
Korea HeraldMAR 12 2023
On Thursday morning, North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in violation of UN sanctions. According to South Korea and Japan, the ICBM flew for 86 minutes before falling into the water.
The launch is believed to be the longest time an ICBM from North Korea has ever been in the air. According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), Pyongyang fired the missile at a "lofted angle," meaning it rose almost vertically instead of moving horizontally.
According to Japan, which monitored the ICBM's trajectory, it traveled at an altitude of over 7K kilometers for approximately 620 miles (1,050 kilometers) before landing in the water just outside Japan's exclusive economic zone
The DPRK violated several UN Security Council resolutions by launching an ICBM Thursday morning. To maintain peace and security across the Korean Peninsula and beyond, Pyongyang must stop its provocative and destabilizing acts. North Korea must promptly resume talks. The US and its regional partners condemn the North Korea-Russia military cooperation, denouncing its illegal weapons transfers and the recent deployment of North Korean soldiers to Russia.
Kim Jung Un, the Supreme Leader of North Korea, sent a powerful message to all of his enemes with Thursday's ICBM test. It was a clear show of the DPRK's strategic capabilities and credibility in terms of its nuclear deterrence.
As the US presidential election approaches, North Korea's latest test launch of the ICBM capable of striking the continental US should send shockwaves through the US foreign policy establishment. North Korea is raising regional tensions, and Pyongyang's test launch significantly threatens US national security.