North Korea fired missile capable of reaching United States, Tokyo says

North Korea fired a long-range ballistic missile on Monday, December 18, potentially capable of hitting the United States, Seoul and Tokyo announced. The South Korean military announced that it had detected the launch from the Pyongyang region, estimating that the missile had traveled 1,000 km before crashing into the Sea of ​​Japan.

Japan said it was likely an ICBM-class missile. This type of projectile “might have the ability to fly more than 15 000 km, and in this case the entire territory of the United States would be within its range”, warned the parliamentary deputy minister of Defense. Its flight lasted one hour and 13 minutes, reaching a maximum altitude of more than 6,000 km.

Seoul, Tokyo and Washington condemn the shootings

Pyongyang had already carried out a first missile launch, this time at short range, a few hours earlier. These two consecutive launches come a few days after warnings from Seoul and Washington, which warned North Korea that “any nuclear attack” against the United States or its allies would lead to the end of Kim Jong-un’s regime.

After the missile launch on Monday,South Korea has accused its neighbor of “pose a serious threat to the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula and the international community.” Japan also has “strongly condemned” these shots, while the United States declared that “vs“The launches, like other ballistic missile launches by Pyongyang this year, constitute a violation of several United Nations Security Council resolutions.”