{"id":37468,"date":"2017-07-29T11:40:22","date_gmt":"2017-07-29T11:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=37468"},"modified":"2017-07-29T11:40:22","modified_gmt":"2017-07-29T11:40:22","slug":"north-korea-icbm-test-reached-u-s-mainland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/world-news\/north-korea-icbm-test-reached-u-s-mainland.html","title":{"rendered":"North Korea: ICBM test could have reached U.S. mainland"},"content":{"rendered":"

North Korea: ICBM test could have reached U.S. mainland<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Saturday the second flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile demonstrated his country can hit the U.S. mainland, hours after the launch left analysts concluding that a wide swath of the United States, including Los Angeles and Chicago, is now in range of North Korean weapons.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Korean Central News Agency said that Kim expressed \u201cgreat satisfaction\u201d after the Hwasong-14 missile reached a maximum height of 3,725 kilometers (2,314 miles) and traveled 998 kilometers (620 miles) before accurately landing in waters off Japan. The agency said that the test was aimed at confirming the maximum range and other technical aspects of the missile it says was capable of delivering a \u201clarge-sized, heavy nuclear warhead.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Analysts had estimated that the North\u2019s first ICBM on July 4 could have reached Alaska, and said that the latest missile appeared to extend that range significantly.<\/span>
\nImmediately after the launch, U.S. and South Korean forces conducted live-fire exercises. South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo called for the deployment of strategic U.S. military assets \u2014 which usually means stealth bombers and aircraft carriers \u2014 as well as additional launchers of an advanced U.S. anti-missile system.<\/span><\/p>\n

Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the missile, launched late Friday night, flew for about 45 minutes \u2014 about five minutes longer than the first. The missile was launched on very high trajectory, which limited the distance it traveled, and landed west of Japan\u2019s island of Hokkaido.<\/span><\/p>\n

The KCNA quoted Kim as saying that the launch reaffirmed the reliability of the country\u2019s ICBM system and an ability to fire at \u201crandom regions and locations at random times\u201d with the \u201centire\u201d U.S. mainland now within range. The agency said that the test confirmed important features of the missile system, such as the proper separation of the warhead and controlling its movement and detonation after atmospheric re-entry.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kim said the launch sent a \u201cserious warning\u201d to the United States, which has been \u201cmeaninglessly blowing its trumpet\u201d with threats of war and stronger sanctions, the KCNA said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The North Korean flight data was similar to assessments by the United States, South Korea and Japan.<\/span><\/p>\n

David Wright, a physicist and co-director of the global security program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said that if reports of the missile\u2019s maximum altitude and flight time are correct, it would have a theoretical range of at least 10,400 kilometers (about 6,500 miles). That means it could have reached Los Angeles, Denver or Chicago, depending on variables such as the size and weight of the warhead that would be carried atop such a missile in an actual attack.<\/span><\/p>\n

President Trump issued a statement condemning the missile test as a threat to the world, and rejecting North Korea\u2019s claim that nuclear weapons ensure its security. \u201cIn reality, they have the opposite effect,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump said the weapons and tests \u201cfurther isolate North Korea, weaken its economy, and deprive its people.\u201d He vowed to \u201ctake all necessary steps\u201d to ensure the security of the U.S. and its allies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said he told U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a phone call that the second missile test greatly increased the threat from Pyongyang. He said two sides agreed to consider all means necessary to exert the utmost pressure on North Korea. They reiterated calls for new sanctions and to work closely together with South Korea along with efforts by China and Russia.<\/span><\/p>\n

China, meanwhile, urged its ally North Korea to abide by U.N. Security Council resolutions and halt any moves that could escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.<\/span><\/p>\n

Washington and its allies have watched with growing concern as Pyongyang has made significant progress toward its goal of having all of the U.S. within range of its missiles to counter what it labels as U.S. aggression. There are other hurdles, including building nuclear warheads to fit on those missiles and ensuring reliability. But many analysts have been surprised by how quickly leader Kim Jong Un has developed North Korea\u2019s nuclear and missile programs despite several rounds of U.N. Security Council sanctions that have squeezed the impoverished country\u2019s economy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump has said he will not allow North Korea to obtain an ICBM that can deliver a nuclear warhead. But this week, the Defense Intelligence Agency reportedly concluded that the North will have a reliable ICBM capable of carrying a nuclear weapon as early as next year, in an assessment that trimmed two years from the agency\u2019s earlier estimate.<\/span><\/p>\n

The French Foreign Ministry condemned the launch and called for \u201cstrong and additional sanctions\u201d by the United Nations and European Union. \u201cOnly maximal diplomatic pressure might bring North Korea to the negotiating table,\u201d the ministry said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a 4G threat: global, grave, given and growing,\u201d France\u2019s U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre told The Associated Press. That\u2019s why we call for a firm and quick reaction including the adoption of strong additional sanctions by the Security Council.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A spokesman for Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that Dunford met at the Pentagon with the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, Adm. Harry Harris, to discuss U.S. military options in light of North Korea\u2019s missile test.<\/span><\/p>\n

The spokesman, Navy Capt. Greg Hicks, said Dunford and Harris placed a phone call to Dunford\u2019s South Korean counterpart, Gen. Lee Sun Jin. Dunford and Harris \u201cexpressed the ironclad commitment to the U.S.-Republic of Korea alliance,\u201d Hicks said, referring to the U.S. defense treaty that obliges the U.S. to defend South Korea.<\/span><\/p>\n

Abe, too, said Japan would cooperate closely with the U.S., South Korea and other nations to step up pressure on North Korea to halt its missile programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Hwasong 14 ICBM test-fired earlier this month was also launched at a very steep angle, a technique called lofting, and reached a height of more than 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) before splashing down in the ocean 930 kilometers (580 miles) away. Analysts said that missile could be capable of reaching most of Alaska or possibly Hawaii if fired in an attacking trajectory.<\/span><\/p>\n

South Korea\u2019s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was launched from North Korea\u2019s northern Jagang province near the border with China. President Moon Jae-in presided over an emergency meeting of the National Security Council, which called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council and stronger sanctions on North Korea.<\/span><\/p>\n

July 27 is a major national holiday in North Korea called Victory in the Fatherland Liberation War Day, marking the day when the armistice was signed ending the 1950-53 Korean War. That armistice is yet to be replaced with a peace treaty, leaving the Korean Peninsula technically in a state of war.<\/span><\/p>\n

source:-https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/world\/2017\/07\/29\/north-korea-icbm-united-states\/522386001\/<\/span><\/p>\n

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