North Korea announces ICBM launch, Japan and US condemn

North Korean state media announced that it launched an intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday morning. Japan and the United States strongly condemned it.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that the country’s leader Kim Jong Un attended the launch.

An NHK camera on Hokkaido’s Okushiri Island captured images of white objects appearing to fall over the Sea of ​​Japan around 8:30 a.m.

Japanese defense officials announced that the North fired at least one missile at 7:11 a.m. from an area believed to be close to the capital Pyongyang.

They say the rocket fell outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone at 8:37 a.m., about 125 miles (200 kilometers) west of the island.

Japanese Defense Minister Nakatani Gen said: “It is believed that the missile launched this time is an intercontinental ballistic missile. But the ministry continues to analyze details, including whether it was a new type of ballistic missile.”

He also said the flight lasted one hour and 26 minutes, the longest of any ballistic missile the North has ever launched. He added that it is estimated to have flown about 1,000 kilometers, reaching a maximum altitude of 7,000 kilometers.

Japanese Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa said the latest launch is a shameful act that escalates tensions throughout the international community.

He said North Korea’s actions threaten the peace and security of Japan, the region and the international community. He added that this is completely unacceptable.

Pyongyang last launched an ICBM-class missile in December 2023.

Japanese government sources say the missile may have been fired on an elevated trajectory. That means it was fired at a steep, almost vertical angle.

Coast Guard officials say they have received no news of damage related to the launch so far.

This would be the twelfth time this year that the North has launched ballistic missiles, or projectiles believed to be ballistic missiles.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that North Korea may have launched a new type of long-range solid-fuel ballistic missile from a large mobile launch pad with 12 wheels on each side.

The launch pad was first unveiled in September, when North Korean state media published photos of it.

White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement Wednesday that the launch is a “blatant violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.”

It said that “U.S. Indo-Pacific Command determined that the launch did not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel, or to U.S. territory, or to its allies.”

But it added that the launch unnecessarily increases tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region.

The statement also said the national security team is working closely with U.S. allies and partners.

It added that the United States will take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the American homeland and its allies, South Korea and Japan.