North Korea Claims Successful Intercontinental Missile Launch

• North Korea Claims Successful Intercontinental Missile Launch

North Korea said Tuesday it successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, a claim that brings the isolated state closer to its aim of building a device capable of hitting the continental U.S. with a nuclear warhead.

The missile was a newly-developed ICBM that reached an altitude of 2,800 kilometers (1,740 miles) and was fired at its highest angle, an announcer said on North Korean state television. It flew for 39 minutes, hit its planned target and caused no risk to neighboring nations, the announcer said.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectile was fired around 9:40 a.m. and flew about 930 kilometers. Japan’s Defense Ministry said it reached an altitude that “greatly exceeded” 2,500 kilometers.

Neither the U.S., South Korea nor Japan have confirmed whether it was an ICBM. Still, the launch risks a serious escalation with North Korea’s neighbors and the U.S. over its weapons program, and comes ahead of a planned meeting this week between President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Germany.

There are already renewed tensions between the U.S. and China about how best to rein in Kim Jong Un, with Trump saying Xi has not done enough to curtail his neighbor and ally. China is North Korea’s main economic lifeline but fears too strong a squeeze on the regime could risk its collapse, leading both to a refugee crisis and a greater U.S. military presence on its doorstep.

Trump has said all options including military force are available to combat the threat from Pyongyang, although North Korea’s neighbors have warned a military strike on the regime could be disastrous for North Asia, given the risk of retaliation. South Korea’s new government has also urged talks with Kim, a stance that puts it potentially at odds with Trump’s administration, which says negotiations can only happen if Kim halts his nuclear program.

David Wright, a co-director of the Union of Concerned Scientists, wrote on the group’s website that the projectile could have a maximum range of about 6,700 kilometers with the potential to reach all of Alaska. That range, he wrote, wouldn’t be enough to reach the lower 48 states or the large islands of Hawaii.

Wright said the missile may have been a modified version of the Hwasong-12 missile that was launched in May. That projectile reached an altitude of 2,111.5 kilometers before landing 787 kilometers from the launch site.

It’s the 11th missile test this year by the regime, and comes in defiance of United Nations sanctions. Trump responded on Twitter earlier Tuesday to Kim’s latest provocation, asking “does this guy have anything better to do with his life?”

“Hard to believe that South Korea and Japan will put up with this much longer,” Trump said. “Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!”

China’s ambassador to the United Nations warned on Monday that “the consequences would be disastrous” if the U.S. and North Korea failed to resume talks. “We cannot afford to wait for too long before dialogue” Liu Jieyi told reporters in New York.