The missile had flown in the direction of the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan, said the general staff in Seoul. The Japanese Ministry of Defense said it had also observed a possible ballistic missile launch by North Korea.
The missile appeared to fall into the sea outside of Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone, Japanese TV broadcaster NHK reported. At 74 minutes, the flight time is the longest that a North Korean missile has ever achieved, the TV Asahi station quoted the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo as saying. The range was 1000 kilometers. It was North Korea’s twelfth missile launch this year.
According to analysts, commercial satellite images show that North Korea is preparing a large military parade for the upcoming July 27 holiday to mark its claim to victory in the 1950-1953 Korean War.
Nuclear submarine warning
North Korea warned the United States on Monday that it would send a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine to South Korea and indirectly threatened to shoot down American reconnaissance planes. The US plans to bring a strategic nuclear submarine with nuclear warheads to the Korean peninsula, the Defense Ministry said in Pyongyang. A ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by the state-controlled media that the situation was threatening to move closer to the “threshold of a nuclear conflict”.
In view of heightened tensions with North Korea, the United States and its ally South Korea agreed in April to expand their military cooperation in order to strengthen South Korea’s nuclear shield. This includes the fact that, for the first time in decades, a US submarine equipped with nuclear missiles is to make a stop in South Korea. A specific date for the project was not given.
International Sanctions
The isolated North Korea has been expanding its weapons program for years and is therefore subject to international sanctions. Testing of ballistic missiles is also prohibited. Depending on the design, these can be equipped with a nuclear warhead.
After an unprecedented series of missile tests in 2022, North Korea has again launched nuclear-capable missiles several times this year. North Korea also launched a solid-fuel ICBM for the first time that year. The missiles are mostly fired in the direction of the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan. The
Attempt to acquire a military spy satellite using a
launching a new launch vehicle failed.
North Korean spy satellite crashes into sea
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