(Seoul) North Korea reportedly launched what is believed to be an intermediate-range ballistic missile toward waters off its eastern coast on Tuesday, the South Korean military said.
North Korea would thus try to advance its weapons towards American targets in the Pacific.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was launched from an area near the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, and traveled about 600 kilometers before landing in the sea between the peninsula Korea and Japan.
Lee Sung Joon, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the launch likely followed a North Korean test in March of a solid fuel engine built for a new intermediate-range hypersonic missile, which the country is developing. If perfected, these weapons could have the capabilities to target U.S. military bases in Guam and even further afield, experts say.
Lee Sung Joon did not specify why the South Koreans indicated that it was an intermediate-range ballistic missile or that it had been used at a speed below its capacity, but explained that the North -Koreans were probably experimenting with new nuclear warhead technologies.
Japan’s Defense Ministry gave more details in its assessment, saying the missile traveled a distance of about 650 kilometers, while reaching a maximum altitude of 100 kilometers, before landing in waters outside the exclusive economic zone of Japan. The Japanese military did not immediately say what kind of missile it was.
It was the North’s first known launch since March 18, when North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw a live-fire exercise of artillery systems intended to target the South Korean capital.
Japan’s coast guard shared an assessment from the country’s Defense Ministry that the missile has already landed, but nevertheless urged caution for ships passing the area.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that no damage linked to the missile had been reported. He added that North Korea’s frequent missile launches “threaten the peace and security of not only Japan, but also the region and international security.”
Rising tensions
Tensions in the region have increased since 2022, as Kim Jong-un used Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a diversion to accelerate his testing of missiles and other weapons. The United States and South Korea responded by expanding their combined training and trilateral exercises involving Japan and refining their deterrence strategies, built around U.S. strategic assets.
Some fear North Korea will step up pressure further during an election year in the United States and South Korea.
After the March 19 test of a new intermediate-range solid-fuel missile, the North Korean leader said the strategic value of the weapons would be just as great as that of his intercontinental ballistic missiles aimed at the U.S. mainland.
In recent years, North Korea has focused on developing integrated solid propellant weapons. These weapons are easier to move and hide and can be launched more quickly than liquid-propellant missiles, which must be fueled before launch and cannot remain so for extended periods.
Kim Jong-un has also pledged to acquire hypersonic missiles capable of overwhelming his adversaries’ missile defense systems. Other weapons tested by North Korea this year include cruise missiles and “very large” multiple rocket launchers aimed at the Seoul area.
This latest launch comes two days after North Korea reaffirmed its intention to launch several reconnaissance satellites this year. South Korea’s military said Monday there were no signs a satellite launch was imminent from the main northwest launch facility.
Kim described the satellites as key to monitoring U.S. and South Korean military movements and enhancing the threat of its nuclear-capable missiles. Last November, North Korea put a military spy satellite into orbit for the first time.
Associated Press reporter Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.