- North Korea fired a new model of long-range ballistic missile, triggering a scare in northern Japan.
- “So far we assess that they fired a new type of ballistic missile with an intermediate or intercontinental range, we’re still analysing details, An official said”.
- The United States “strongly condemned” in a statement and suspects it as a long-range ballistic missile test.
- “North Korea has been working to build more solid-fuel missiles, which are easier to store and transport, and can be launched with almost no warning or preparation time”. said a senior defence analyst.
- North Korea has criticised recent joint military exercises between U.S. and South Korean forces as escalating tensions, stepping up its weapons tests in recent months.
North Korea fired a new model of long-range ballistic missile, triggering a scare in northern Japan, where residents were told to take cover, though there turned out to be no danger. A South Korean military official said the missile appeared to have been a new weapon displayed at recent North Korean military parades, and possibly used solid fuel.
“So far we assess that they fired a new type of ballistic missile with an intermediate or intercontinental range,” the official said. “We’re still analysing details like the trajectory, altitude and range, with the possibility that it carried a solid-fuel propellant.” The South Korean military said it was on high alert and coordinating closely with its main ally, the United States, which “strongly condemned” what the White House said in a statement was a long-range ballistic missile test.
North Korea has been working to build more solid-fuel missiles, which are easier to store and transport, and can be launched with almost no warning or preparation time. While North Korea has tested short-range solid-fuel missiles, it has not tested a long-range missile of that type, said Bruce Bennett, a senior defence analyst at the U.S.-based RAND Corporation.
A former South Korean navy officer, said the new system might have been an intercontinental ballistic missile that was unveiled at a February military parade, and powered by a solid-fuel engine tested in December. The nuclear envoys of allies South Korea, the U.S. and Japan spoke and condemned the launch, saying North Korea had constantly threatened regional peace with “unprecedented levels of provocations and menacing words”, South Korea’s foreign ministry said.
Japan called a National Security Council meeting in response to the launch. Its defence minister said the missile appeared to have been fired eastward at a high angle and it did not fall in Japanese territory. Japan’s coast guard said the projectile had fallen in the sea to the east of North Korea.
Authorities retracted the alert for Hokkaido island in northern Japan when they determined that the missile would not fall nearby. Schools in Hokkaido delayed their opening times and some train services were suspended, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.
The launch came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for strengthening war deterrence in a “more practical and offensive” manner to counter what North Korea called moves of aggression by the United States.
While condemning the latest in a string of North Korean missile tests, the United States renewed its offer to open talks. “The door has not closed on diplomacy, but Pyongyang must immediately cease its destabilising actions and instead choose diplomatic engagement,” U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
North Korea has criticised recent joint military exercises between U.S. and South Korean forces as escalating tensions, stepping up its weapons tests in recent months.
