BREAKING N.Korea launches mid-range missile from northwest region

After the joint declaration of intent by Trump and Abe to annihilate North Korea, the communist country conducts major missile test after several month refrain from testing.

North Korea just launched an unidentified midrange ballistic missile towards the East Sea, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced early today on Sunday 12/2 morning local time.

The missile, which was launched at Panghyon from North Phyongan Province at 0755 KST and traveled around 500km after a rapid vertical ascent of 550km, has not yet been identified, but appears likely to have been a Rodong-type mid-range missile. “The U.S. and South Korea are analyzing terrified the launch in detail, but we don’t rule out the possibility that it could be a new kind of the missile,” an unnamed official at the South’s JCS later said on Sunday afternoon. “Considering the altitude and flight distance of the ballistic missile launched today, it is different from the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM),” the official added.

The U.S. Strategic Command described it as a “medium range or intermediate range ballistic missile” earlier on Sunday. “North Korea’s test-firing of the ballistic missile is a provocation that flagrantly violates the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions again,” the JCS said in a written statement.

The launch comes following several months of North Korean missile test refrain, but notably follows Kim Jong Un’s New Year’s Day remark that Pyongyang was in the final stages of preparing for testing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

President Trump responded by saying on Twitter that a North Korean ICBM capability “won’t happen,” meaning Sunday’s test could be seen as posing a direct challenge to the White House. “Our assessment is that the North is attempting to attract attention by showing off its nuclear and missile capabilities and to make a show of force to counter against the new U.S. administration’s hardline stance toward North Korea,” the JCS said about the launch early on Sunday.

After launch South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency initially said the JCS was analyzing whether the projectile might be a Musudan-type missile, which has an estimated range of between 2,500-4,000 kilometers and an estimated payload capacity of 1,000-1,250 kilograms.

North Korea test-fired Musudan missiles eight times from April 15 until October 20, but succeeded only once with a test launch on June 22.

Another Seoul-based North Korea expert said the timing of the launch is ideal for sending a message to the Trump Administration and weaken Seoul’s position. “While the launch had the risk of backfiring and agitating President Trump, it’s not like the U.S.’ military can double or triple its size, or to hire Tony Stark,” Cha Du-hyeogn, a former intelligence secretary to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak told NK News. “So, even if Pyongyang does something foolish, multiple barriers are holding the U.S. back from conducting a preemptive strike or take military action,” he said. “Also, considering the mess that the current South Korean government is in now makes this an ideal time to drive a wedge between the ROK-U.S. cooperation.”

President Trump’s Twitter account indicated he would have been dining with Japanese Prime Minister Abe in Florida at the time of the launch.

National Security Advisor Kim Kwan-jin will convene a National Security Council (NSC) meeting at 0930 KST with regard to the North’s missile launch, the South’s Blue House said on Sunday. “The whole government is making its utmost efforts to punish the North corresponding to the missile launch in tandem with the international community,” South Korea’s Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn said about the launch.

As of Sunday, North Korean state media was yet to comment about the launch. Typically, it confirms only successful launches, usually one day after they take place.

On the occasion of Donald Trump’s inauguration, the White House announced on January 20 that it would make the United States military “strong again” through a new budget that will improve missile defense capabilities against North Korea.

 

Source: NK News