North Korea fired what is believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) towards the sea on Thursday, the South Korean and Japanese military said, in what would be the first launch of this type of projectile since 2017.
According to the Japan Coast Guard, the missile landed 170 kilometers west of Aomori, in the north of the country.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had detected the launch of an “unidentified projectile” from North Korea on an “elevated” trajectory in space, Yonhap news agency reported. The South Korean Ministry of Defense did not immediately confirm whether the test involved an ICBM.
On March 16, North Korea launched a suspicious missile that appeared to explode shortly after takeoff over Pyongyang, South Korea’s military said, amid reports that the nuclear-armed North was trying to test its largest missile to date. now.
US officials said at least two recent tests, on February 27 and March 5, featured North Korea’s largest ICBM system so far, the Hwasong-17.
“The purpose of these tests, which did not demonstrate the ICBM’s range, was likely to evaluate this new system before conducting a full-range test in the future, potentially disguised as a space launch,” an American official said at the time.
Pyongyang did not disclose the missile system used in those launches, but said it was testing components for a reconnaissance satellite system. Leader Kim Jong Un said this month that North Korea will soon launch several satellites to monitor the military movements of the US and its allies.
Thursday’s launch would be the 13th of a ballistic missile fired by North Korea this year, an unprecedented frequency that has attracted the attention of the United States, South Korea and Japan.
Source: CNN Brasil
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