North Korea test-fires nuclear-capable missile

• North Korea recently test-fired the Hwasong-12 missile​, their first nuclear-capable missile since 2017.
• This was the country’s seventh missile launch in January.
• The missile, which reached 1,242 miles high and traveled about 497 miles, has the capability of striking the US territory of Guam.

North Korea has confirmed on Monday that it had test-fired a nuclear-capable, intermediate-range ballistic missile that has the ability to strike the US territory of Guam in the Pacific.

The Hwasong-12 missile​ launch is North Korea’s seventh missile launch this month. It is also its first launch of a nuclear-capable missile since 2017.

According to the North Korean government’s propaganda outlet, the Korean Central News Agency, they conducted the test to verify the missile’s accuracy. They claimed that the missile took a high trajectory to avoid flying over neighboring countries. ​

Officials from South Korea and Japan first reported on the launch on Sunday. They observed that the missile reached a height of 1,242 miles and traveled about 497 miles before it landed in the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

The Hwasong-12 appears to be the most powerful missile tested by North Korea since 2017. Back then, the nation had test-fired a series of missiles as it sought to develop nuclear-capable weapons that could strike military bases in northeast Asia and the US mainland.

When fired on a standard trajectory, the ground-to-ground, nuclear-capable weapon can reach up to 2,800 miles. This means that it can easily strike Guam, where about 7,000 troops are deployed in US military bases.

Biden administration officials pointed out that aside from the most recent launch, North Korea has been conducting “quite a significant number of tests in this month.” This shows that the country has resumed its development of intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

The White House declared that they would respond in a way “designed to show our commitment to our allies.”

Discussions have stalled between Washington and Pyongyang after the US refused to ease sanctions during the 2019 summit between former President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.

Source: New York Post