Pyongyang/Seoul: On Tuesday, after threatening to shoot down a US spy plane, North Korea test-fires an Intercontinental Ballistic missile the next day. Japan claims that the missile covered 1000km. It is speculated that the missile Hwasong-18 was launched from a location close to Pyongyang. It is the 4th ICBM test conducted by North Korea in the last 12 months. The US, South Korea, and Japan have strongly criticized the missile testing as a violation of security council agreements.
The Defence Ministry of Japan has informed that North Korea fired the ICBM around 10 am on Wednesday. It landed in the Sea of Japan at around 11.15 am and reached a height of 6000km. Japan drew attention to the missile flight duration of 70 minutes, which was the first instance of a missile to stay airborne for such a duration.
North Korea’s tests have been widely criticized at the international level. NATO condemned the test against the backdrop of the meeting underway in Europe. The South Korean President has called for a high-level meeting to decide on increasing the scope of military deployment and war preparedness. The US and Japan have expressed anguish over the tests and warned of befitting responses.
A day before the test, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, had alleged the US of sending surveillance planes near North Korea. She threatened the US with shocking consequences if further intrusion attempts occurred.
North Korea’s consistent missile testing is seen as a policy to keep the US and its allies under pressure while they build a nuclear arsenal. In their defence report a few months ago, South Korea mentioned the growing threat from North Korea’s development of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. The report claimed that North Korea has obtained 154 pounds of plutonium and has successfully built a small-sized nuclear weapon.
North Korea is consistently building tensions by testing missiles capable of targeting the US. The US media is raising concerns that North Korea’s missile could pose a challenge to the air defence system in Alaska and California. Analysts are claiming that the missile test’s success is indicative of North Korea’s increased capabilities.
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