The Japanese defense minister says a North Korean missile test-launched Friday could potentially reach the entire continental U.S.
Korea — The Japanese defense minister says a North Korean missile test-launched Friday could potentially reach the entire continental U.S.
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters that the suspected intercontinental ballistic missile flew 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) at a maximum altitude of about 6,000 kilometers (3,600 miles).
He says the altitude suggests that the missile was likely launched on a high angle.
He says depending on the weight of a warhead to be placed on the missile, the weapon has a range exceeding 15,000 kilometers (9,320 miles), « in which case it could cover the entire mainland United States. »
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story is below:
North Korea fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile that landed near Japanese territorial waters Friday, its neighbors said, the second such major weapons test this month that shows its determination to perfect weapons systems targeting the U.S. mainland.
The launch was the latest in a barrage of weapons tests that North Korea has conducted in recent months in response to what it calls U.S. hostility. Some experts say the North is able to perform such a spree of weapons tests partly because China and Russia have opposed U.S. moves to toughen sanctions on North Korea.
The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the suspected ICBM launch from North Korea’s capital region at 10:15 a.m. and the weapon flew toward the North’s eastern coast across the country. The statement said South Korea’s military bolstered its surveillance of North Korea and maintains readiness in close coordination with the United States.
