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SEOUL – North Korea on Monday conducted its first intercontinental ballistic missile test in five months, likely launching a developmental, more agile weapon, as it vows strong responses against U.S. and South Korean moves to boost their nuclear deterrence plans.
The South Korean government described the missile tested as a solid-fueled weapon, a likely reference to the North’s road-mobile Hwasong-18 ICBM whose built-in solid propellants make its launch more difficult for adversaries to detect than liquid-fueled weapons. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un previously called the Hwasong-18 the most powerful weapon of his nuclear forces.
South Korea’s military said the North Korean missile flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. It said the missile was launched on an elevated angle, an apparent attempt to avoid neighboring countries. Japanese lawmaker Masahisa Sato, citing Japan’s Defense Ministry, said the missile rose as high as 6,000 kilometers (3,730 miles).
The reported flight details matched those of North Korea’s second test of the Hwasong-18 missile in July. The North first test-fired the missile in April.
Since 2017, North Korea has carried out a slew of ICBM tests in a bid to acquire the ability to launch nuclear strikes on the U.S. mainland. But all of its previous ICBM tests before April’s Hwasong-18 launch involved liquid-propellent ICBMs, which need to be fueled before launch and cannot stay fueled for long periods of time.
In a trilateral call, U.S. National Security visor Jake Sullivan and his South Korean and Japanese counterparts condemned the North Korean launch, which the White House said was “a flagrant” violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban any ballistic activities by the North. It said the three advisers also underscored the importance of sharing data and coordinating responses amid growing cooperation between North Korea and Russia.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered officials to maintain a solid South Korean-U.S. joint defense posture and respond “swiftly and overwhelmingly” to any North Korean provocations against South Korean territory. In a televised statement, senior South Korean military officer Lee Seung O separately warned that North Korea will be solely responsible for all the consequences that could occur due to its provocations.
The North’s ICBM test was its second weapons firing in less than a day. On Sunday night, the North launched a short-range ballistic missile, also into the water off its east coast, according to the South Korean, Japanese and U.S. governments.
South Korea’s military said the short-range missile flew about 570 kilometers (354 miles), a range that observers say is far enough to reach all key sites in South Korea, including U.S. military installations, if weapons are launched near the border with the South.
The U.S. military said the launch highlighted “the destabilizing impact of (North Korea’s) illicit weapons program.”
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Observers said the North’s back-to-back launches were likely a protest against moves by South Korea and the United States to bolster their joint nuclear deterrence capabilities in the face of North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats.
Senior U.S. and South Korean officials met in Washington on Friday for their second Nuclear Consultative Group meeting. They agreed to update their nuclear deterrence and contingency strategies and incorporate nuclear operation scenarios in their combined military exercises next summer, according to Seoul officials.
The consultative body is responsible for sharing information on nuclear and strategic weapons operation plans and joint operations, though the U.S. will retain operational control of its nuclear weapons. U.S. officials said the group’s establishment and other steps to solidify U.S. security commitment were meant to ease South Korean worries about North Korean provocations while keeping Seoul from pursuing its own nuclear program.
The “U.S. side reiterated that any nuclear attack by (North Korea) against (South Korea) will be met with a swift, overwhelming, and decisive response,” said a joint statement issued after Friday’s meeting.
On Sunday, North Korea’s Defense Ministry slammed its rivals’ move to include nuclear operation scenarios in their joint drills, describing it as an open threat to potentially use nuclear weapons against the North.
“The armed forces of (North Korea) will thoroughly neutralize the U.S. and its vassal forces’ attempt to ignite a nuclear war,” the North Korean statement said. “Any attempt by the hostile forces to use armed force against (North Korea) will face a preemptive and deadly counteraction.”
Since last year, North Korea has performed about 100 ballistic missile tests as part of its efforts to enlarge its arsenal of nuclear-capable weapons targeting the U.S. and its allies. Experts say North Korea would eventually aim to use its weapons arsenal to wrest greater U.S. concessions.
The U.S. and South Korea have responded by expanding their military drills and increased the temporary deployments of strategic U.S. assets such as aircraft carriers, nuclear-capable bombers and a nuclear-armed submarine in and near South Korea.
Animosities between the two Koreas further deepened after North Korea launched its first military reconnaissance satellite into space on Nov. 21 in violation of U.N. bans. South Korea, the U.S. and Japan strongly condemned the launch, viewing it as an attempt by the North to improve its missile technology as well as establish a space-based surveillance system.
South Korea announced plans to resume front-line aerial surveillance in response. North Korea quickly retaliated by restoring border guard posts, officials in Seoul said. Both steps would breach a 2018 inter-Korean deal on easing front-line military tensions.
