The Japanese Ministry of Defense has reported that the ballistic missile tested by North Korea on Monday belongs to the class of intercontinental missiles capable of covering the entire territory of the United States.
Shingo Miyake, Deputy Minister of Defense in the Japanese Parliament, stated that "the ballistic missile launched this time, which belongs to the intercontinental missile class, could exceed a range of 15,000 kilometers if estimated based on the trajectory of the missile and the weight of the warhead it carries. In this context, the entire United States could be within its range."
He indicated that the missile was observed to have traveled a distance of about 1,000 kilometers, reaching a maximum altitude exceeding 6,000 kilometers.
Miyake continued, "It is estimated that the missile flew for a duration of 73 minutes, and at around 9:37 am (00:37 GMT), it fell into the Sea of Japan at a distance of 250 kilometers northwest of Okushiri Island, which is part of Hokkaido, outside Japan's exclusive economic zone."
Violation and Threat
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida considered on Monday that North Korea's recent missile launches constitute a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions and a threat to peace and stability.
In turn, the Deputy Minister of Defense confirmed that "Japan has lodged a strong protest against this launch through its embassy in Beijing."
United States Condemns the Test
Across the ocean, a spokesperson for the US State Department stated that the country condemns North Korea's recent test of launching a ballistic missile.
In a statement to Agence France-Presse, the spokesperson noted that "these launches, like other ballistic missile launches conducted by Pyongyang this year, violate several United Nations Security Council resolutions."
He added that these missile tests "pose a threat to neighboring countries to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and endanger regional security," using the official name for North Korea.
It should be noted that this launch came after Seoul detected another short-range ballistic missile launched late Sunday night from the Pyongyang area.
The South Korean military announced on Monday that North Korea had launched a long-range missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads towards the Sea of Japan.
According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, the launch of a ballistic missile suspected to be an intercontinental was recorded on Monday morning.
The missile headed towards the Sea of Japan, between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. It was not immediately clear the full distance the missile had traveled.
According to information from the South Korean military, this was the second ballistic missile launch by North Korea within a few hours. The first missile fell into the sea after traveling a distance of approximately 570 kilometers also in the easterly direction.
United Nations resolutions prohibit North Korea, which considers itself a nuclear power, from launching or even testing ballistic missiles of any range.
