North Korea tested a missile that appears to have the range to hit major US cities, experts say, and prompted condemnation from the United States and China.
However, early analysis of Friday’s test cannot determine how heavy a payload the missile was carrying in its warhead, Wright said. The heavier the payload, the shorter the range.
South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said they estimate the missile tested Friday is more advanced than one launched earlier this month based on the range it traveled. Experts had said that test showed Pyongyang had the ability to hit Alaska.
President Donald Trump condemned the missile launch and said the United States would act to ensure its security.
„Threatening the world, these weapons and tests further isolate North Korea, weaken its economy and deprive its people, “ Trump said in a written statement. „The United States will take all necessary steps to ensure the security of the American homeland and protect our allies in the region.“
Kim calls weapons program a ‚precious asset‘
Pyongyang’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said Saturday that the latest missile launch was a Hwasong-14, the same missile tested earlier this month.
Friday’s test was designed to show the Hwasong-14’s maximum range with a „large-sized heavy nuclear warhead, “ it said, adding that Washington should regard the launch as a „grave warning.“
North Korean state media was quick to tout the missile test as a success, with video and stills showing leader Kim Jong Un overseeing the launch and celebrating with the troops involved.
North Koreans hailed the test-firing, the news agency said. Kim Yu Chol, a researcher at the State Academy of Sciences, called the achievement „another great victory which dealt a heavy blow to the US imperialists and its vassal forces.“ Jo Son Hyang, a resident of Pyongyang’s Rangnang District, said the „future of the country is bright“ now that it has a „powerful sword for keeping peace.“
Kim was quoted as saying „the whole US mainland“ is now within North Korea’s reach. He called Pyongyang’s weapons program „a precious asset“ that cannot be reversed or replaced, according to the agency.
In the wake of the test, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., and Adm. Harry Harris, commander of US Pacific Command, called the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Gen. Lee Sun Jin, to express „ironclad commitment“ to the US alliance with South Korea and discuss military response options.
Hours after that call, the US and South Korean military conducted a live-fire exercise as a show of force in response to the test, according to Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis. The exercise included firing missiles into the ocean.
Both militaries conducted a similar show of force after North Korea’s first ICBM test in early July.
