North Korea test-fires long-range missile: South

North Korea has test-launched a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) toward the East Sea, the South Korean military says.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement on Thursday that it had detected the launch from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at 7:10 a.m. local time.

The missile flew for some 1,000 kilometers before splashing into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, it said, adding that during the 70-minute flight, it reached a maximum altitude of 6,000 kilometers.

“The intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States are conducting a comprehensive analysis in consideration of recent movements related to the North’s missile development program,” the JCS said.

The launch came just hours before Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol were due to meet in Tokyo for their first-ever formal summit.

Last month, Pyongyang test-fired a Hwasong-15 ICBM. Observers speculated that it had been a solid-fuel ICBM, which is faster to fire and harder to spot in advance of take-off.

Following the launch on Thursday, JCS Chairman Gen. Kim Seung-kyum held virtual talks with US Gen. Paul LaCamera, the commander of the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command. They reaffirmed that the allies would further solidify their combined military might against “any North Korean threats and provocations.”

“We strongly condemn the North’s series of ballistic missile launches as an act of significant provocation that harms peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula, but also in the international community, and a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions,” the JCS further said, urging Pyongyang to swiftly halt such launches.

Japan said the missile landed outside its exclusive economic zone and that there were no reports of damage to ships and aircraft.

“North Korea’s missile launch is a barbaric act that escalates its provocation to the entire international society. We will confirm close cooperation with South Korea and the US towards North Korea’s complete denuclearization at the Japan-South Korea summit today,” said Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno.

Earlier this week, the North test-fired four short-range ballistic missiles, two on Wednesday and two on Tuesday, amid ongoing joint South Korea-US military drills that Pyongyang condemns as hostile actions.

Hours after the launch on Thursday, President Yoon arrived in Tokyo for a meeting with Prime Minister Kishida to repair ties and boost security cooperation.

South Korea and Japan has for the past several years been feuding over compensation for Japan’s use of Korean forced labor during its 1910-45 occupation of the Korean Peninsula.

The Thursday launch adds to a barrage of rockets the North has fired in recent weeks.

North Korea, which has been under harsh sanctions by the US and the United Nations Security Council for years over its nuclear and ballistic-missile programs, launched an unprecedented number of missiles in 2022, including its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile ever.