According to the South Korean military, North Korea has fired a nuclear-capable missile with a range of probably thousands of kilometers towards the open sea.
The rocket was launched near the North Korean capital Pyongyang, the general staff in Seoul said. The missile therefore flew after launch at a steep launch angle about 1000 kilometers in the direction of the Sea of Japan (Korean: East Sea), where it then fell into the water. Japan initially asked residents of the northern island of Hokkaido to seek shelter because of the rocket launch, but later withdrew the warning.
South Korea’s military assumed it was testing a medium-range or even longer-range ballistic missile. The range of medium-range missiles exceeds 800 kilometers, that of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) 5500 kilometers. A statement by US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said on Wednesday in Washington (local time) that North Korea had tested an ICBM. She accused the communist-ruled country of violating UN Security Council resolutions. North Korea is banned from testing any range ballistic missile. The rockets can be equipped with nuclear warheads.
Baerbock in China
The conflict with North Korea will also be a topic during Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s trip to East Asia. Meanwhile, the Green politician first arrived in China. On Saturday she will travel to South Korea and on Sunday to the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Japan. The dispute over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program has been one of the most dangerous conflicts in international politics for years.
In South Korea, it was not ruled out that North Korea could now have tested a weapon system that was new to the country. Various options are being explored with the US, including testing a solid-propelled ICBM, national news agency Yonhap quoted a government official in Seoul as saying. Solid fuel rockets are ready for use particularly quickly. North Korea’s development of strategic missiles is particularly aimed at the United States, which Pyongyang accuses of hostile policies.
The conflict has become significantly more explosive in recent months. After an unprecedented series of missile tests last year, North Korea has again tested multiple missiles including ICBMs and guided missiles this year. Pyongyang also intensified its rhetoric against the governments in Washington and Seoul. The US and its ally South Korea resumed full-scale joint military exercises to deter North Korea. At a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Military Commission on Monday, North Korea’s ruler Kim Jong Un demanded that the country strengthen its war deterrence more quickly and in a “more practical and offensive” manner.
