Seoul: North Korea claimed on Friday it launched an intercontinental ballistic missile to "instill fear in enemies", as South Korea, Japan and the United States agreed to cooperate closely on regional security at a summit and near agreed to conduct military exercises.
The missile was fired on Thursday just before a summit between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida aimed at strengthening security ties between US allies in the face of North Korea's nuclear threats.
North Korea has escalated a tit-for-tat response to ongoing US-South Korean military exercises, the largest of their kind in years, with four missile displays in about a week.
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The Biden administration is pushing to strengthen its alliance network in Asia to counter the nuclear threat from North Korea and the growing influence of China. As a result, it seeks to improve South Korea–Japan relations, which have recently deteriorated over historical issues.
Along with their joint exercises, which began on Monday and will run until March 23, the United States and South Korea are also participating in anti-submarine warfare exercises, which began on Wednesday with Japan, Canada and India.
According to North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test-firing of the Hwasong-17 missile and stressed the need to "instill fear in the enemy", as the US-South Korea exercise was called. Is. ' "open hostility" to the north.
According to KCNA, the missile, which was launched at a steep angle to avoid neighboring North Korea, traveled 1,000 kilometers and reached a maximum altitude of 6,045 kilometers before coming to rest on the country's east coast.
According to flight assessments by the armies of South Korea and Japan, the US mainland is within range of the missile. It is still unknown whether North Korea has built nuclear weapons that can survive atmospheric re-entry when launched on normal trajectories or nuclear bombs that are small enough to fit on long-range rockets.
Photos of Kim observing the missile launch from a distance were carried by North Korea's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper while it was launched from a launch vehicle parked on an airport runway.
Additionally, photographs allegedly taken by a camera on the missile as it was rocketed into space were published by Rodong Sinmun. He displayed a circular view of the Earth, with clouds visible as the Korean Peninsula and the Asian coastline.
According to Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at South Korea's private Sejong Institute, the photos appear to be evidence that the missile will be able to hit its target with precision.
Despite the fact that all of North Korea's ICBM tests have been conducted at a high angle, Cheong claimed that the country may be getting closer to launching one of these missiles at a low angle into the Pacific Ocean, which is its most advanced range. Will be one of more tests. Exciting weapon displays ever.
According to KCNA, the launch of the ICBM sends a "stern warning" to North Korea's adversaries who are raising the tone of the conflict with their "frantic, provocative and aggressive large-scale war drills". According to KCNA, the purpose of the test was also to verify the dependability of the weapon system.
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Kim said it was necessary for North Korea to keep its nuclear missile forces ready to launch "overwhelming offensive measures" to hit back at adversaries and assured them that it would continue and expand its military operations. to "an irreversible, grave danger would arise for them." According to KCNA.