North Korea
fired a ballistic missile on Sunday in defiance of calls to rein in its weapons
program, days after a new leader in its old rival South Korea came to power
pledging
to engage it in dialogue.
The U.S.
Pacific Command said it was assessing the type of missile but it was "not
consistent with an intercontinental ballistic missile". Japanese Defense
Minister Tomomi Inada said the missile could be of a new type.
The missile
flew 700 km (430 miles) and reached an altitude of more than 2,000 km (1,245
miles), according to officials in South Korea and Japan, further and higher
than an intermediate-range missile North Korea successfully tested in February
from the same region of Kusong, northwest of its capital, Pyongyang.
North Korea
is widely believed to be developing an intercontinental missile tipped with a
nuclear weapon that is capable of reaching the United States.
U.S.
President Donald Trump has vowed not to let that happen.
An
intercontinental ballistic missile is considered to have a range of more than
6,000 km (3,700 miles).
Experts said
the altitude the missile tested on Sunday reached meant it was launched at a
high trajectory, which would limit the lateral distance it traveled.
But if it
was fired at a standard trajectory, it would have a range of at least 4,000 km
(2,500 miles), experts said.
Kim
Dong-yub, of Kyungnam University's Institute of Far Eastern Studies in Seoul,
said he estimated a standard trajectory would give it a range of 6,000 km.
Japan said
the missile flew for 30 minutes before dropping into the sea between North
Korea's east coast and Japan. The North has consistently test-fired missiles in
that direction.
"The
launch may indeed represent a new missile with a long range," said
Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, referring
to the estimated altitude of more than 2,000 km. "It is definitely
concerning."
In
Washington, the White House said Trump "cannot imagine Russia is
pleased" with the test as the missile landed closer to Russia than to
Japan.
"With
the missile impacting so close to Russian soil – in fact, closer to Russia than
to Japan – the President cannot imagine that Russia is pleased," it said.
The launch
served as a call for all nations to implement stronger sanctions against North
Korea, it added.
'CLEAR
VIOLATION'
Speaking in
Beijing, Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, told
reporters Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping had discussed the situation on
the Korean peninsula, including the latest missile launch and expressed
"mutual concerns" about growing tension.
Putin is in
Beijing for a conference on a plan for a new Silk Road. Delegations from the
United States, South Korea and North Korea are also there.
The launch,
at 5:27 a.m. Seoul time (2027 GMT Saturday), came two weeks after North Korea
fired a missile that disintegrated minutes into flight, marking its fourth
consecutive failure since March.
South Korean
President Moon Jae-in, who took office on Wednesday, held his first National
Security Council in response to the launch, which he called a "clear
violation" of U.N. Security Council resolutions, his office said.
"The
president said while South Korea remains open to the possibility of dialogue
with North Korea, it is only possible when the North shows a change in
attitude," Yoon Young-chan, Moon's press secretary, told a briefing.
Moon won
Tuesday's election on a platform of a moderate approach to North Korea and has
said he would be willing to go to Pyongyang under the right circumstances,
arguing dialogue must be used in parallel with sanctions.
China, the
North's sole main ally which nevertheless objects to its weapons programs,
called for restraint and for no one to exacerbate tension.
"China
opposes relevant launch activities by North Korea that are contrary to Security
Council resolutions," China's foreign ministry said in a statement.
The launch
will also complicate Moon's efforts to mend ties with China that have been
strained by a decision by South Korea's former government to deploy a U.S.
anti-missile defense system aimed at defending against North Korea, but which
China sees as a threat to its security.
Moon told
Chinese President Xi last week that it would be difficult to resolve the issue
unless North Korea stopped being provocative.
Japanese
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said North Korea's missile launches were a
"grave threat to our country and a clear violation of UN
resolutions".
North Korea
on Feb. 12, launched the Pukguksong-2 missile, an upgraded, extended-range
version of its submarine-launched ballistic missile, from the same site.
South Korean
and U.S. military officials said the February launch was a significant
development as it successfully tested a solid-fuel engine from a mobile
launcher. The missile flew about 500 km with an altitude of 550 km.
The North
attempted but failed to test-launch ballistic missiles four times in the past
two months but has conducted various tests since the beginning of last year at
an unprecedented pace.
It also
conducted its fourth and fifth nuclear tests last year.
Trump warned
in an interview with Reuters in April that a "major, major conflict"
with the North was possible but he would prefer a diplomatic outcome.
Trump has
also said he would be "honored" to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong
Un under the right circumstances.
On Saturday,
a top North Korean diplomat said it was open to dialogue with the Trump
administration under the right conditions.
0 Comments