Seoul, South Korea
DailyExpertNews
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North Korea fired a possible intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into waters off Japan’s west coast on Thursday, Japan’s deputy defense minister said.
Makoto Oniki told a news conference that the North Korean missile flew to an altitude of 6,000 kilometers (3,728 miles), which would suggest it is a “new type of ICBM”.
The missile landed in Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone, 170 kilometers (106 miles) west of Cape Tappi on the northern tip of Japan’s main island, Honshu, Oniki said.
If confirmed, Thursday’s launch would be North Korea’s longest rocket launch since November 2017, when it sent a Hwasong-15 missile to an altitude of 4,475 kilometers (2,800 miles).
Thursday’s launch marks the 11th year in North Korea, including one on March 16, which the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff say would have failed.
The other most recent launches from Pyongyang, on Feb. 26 and March 4, were likely to test a new ICBM system, the US Department of Defense said earlier this month.
The US Indo-Pacific Command announced earlier this month that the US is stepping up “intelligence, preparedness and surveillance activities” related to North Korea after the recent spate of missile launches.
The move is a signal from the Biden administration that it must strengthen its military stance to ensure that the US and allies in the region such as South Korea and Japan are protected from North Korea’s missile tests.
The command said they have “ordered intensified intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance activities in the Yellow Sea, as well as increased preparedness of our ballistic missile defense forces in the region.”
Last week, the US military organized exercises in and around the Korean peninsula to demonstrate its readiness in the wake of North Korean activity, including simulating ballistic missile defense systems.
The US Army’s 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade moved to a remote location, “occupies its wartime defensive position, replaces the Patriot missile system, and conducts air and missile defense operations in a simulated combat scenario,” US Forces Korea said in a press release.
And at sea, F-35 and F/A-18 fighter jets flying off the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, along with US Air Force assets in the region, showed a show of power in the Yellow Sea off the west coast of South Korea, according to a reporter. statement of the 7th Fleet of the United States Navy in Japan.
Thursday’s possible launch also comes just two weeks after South Korea elected a new conservative president, Yoon Suk Yeol, who is expected to crack down on North Korea more than current office holder, Moon Jae-in.
This story has been updated to clarify the rocket’s location.