North Korea Breaks Long Lull With New Ballistic Missile Launch
"Pyongyang's provocative actions make it difficult to de-escalate the crisis on the Korean Peninsula," said today Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for the President of Russia, after the test of a new ballistic missile, which, according to North Korea, is capable of hitting targets in the U.S. The Kremlin calls for all parties to remain calm to avoid the unfolding of the worst-case scenario. In several hours, the situation will be discussed by the UN Security Council members.
Observing the launch and its aftermath from Seoul and Tokyo were Vesti journalists Darya Kozlova and Sergey Mingazhev.
Seoul, South Korea. This launch was anticipated by South Korea. Several hours before the test, a radar detected an increase in radio signals near one of the North Korean bases. Experts who spoke on South Korean TV speculated that it might be a preparation or a check of missile systems.
The South Korean military was up 5 minutes after the North Korean launch. The ground, naval and air forces started a joint missile-firing drill. A total of 3 different rockets were launched, their range from 57 to 1000 km.
At 6 AM local time the president of South Korea convened a meeting of the National Security Council.
Moon Jae-in, President of South Korea: "North Korea has launched another ballistic missile. These actions not only increase the tensions on the Korean Peninsula, but also threaten the safety of the whole world. We strongly condemn Pyongyang for this reckless behavior. Clearly, the only way to respond now is to strengthen the sanctions against North Korea".
The missile launched by North Korea is called the Hwasong-15.
Ri Chun-he, North Korean News Presenter: "A new intercontinental ballistic missile has been successfully launched. It is capable of carrying a heavy nuclear warhead and striking anywhere on the U.S. mainland."
This missile launch is the first one since September 15, 2017. For more than two months, Pyongyang refrained from military activity. This period has become known as a lull period. As to why North Korea decided to end the military silence now, it's not clear yet.
Today, Tokyo was watching the North Korean missile launch via a satellite tracking system which was activated at night after Hwasong-15 was launched from a test range near Pyongyang at 3:18 AM local time. 53 minutes later, the rocket sank into the Sea of Japan, only 250 km west of the coast of Honshu. Shortly after that, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had an urgent phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump and called for an emergency meeting of the National Security Council.
The first detail pointed out by experts is not the range, which today didn't exceed 1000 km, but the altitude — 4475 km. For the North Korean missile program, it's an absolute record. The rocket was sent on a high lofted trajectory which means it went up almost vertically. With a smaller launch angle, Hwasong-15, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, will be able to cover the distance to Washington and New York. The calculations of American experts estimate the potential range of this rocket at 13,000 km.
Today's launch was signed off personally by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Although North Korea doesn't hide the fact that its main objective is mainland U.S., all North Korean missiles inevitably head in the direction of Japan. So it was Tokyo that today called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan: "Japanese government had determined the trajectory of the missile and responded in the most decisive way. We will not tolerate North Korea's reckless actions".
It's been less than a month since Donald Trump visited Tokyo as part of a large-scale tour around Asia and talked about the success of his policy of pressure on Pyongyang.
Donald Trump, U.S. President: "As far as the missile launch goes, I can tell you one thing. We will handle it. It's a situation we can deal with".
How exactly the White House is going to handle it, the president didn't say. There were also none of those threats to annihilate North Korea that he used before. Today, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said that with the successful launch of Hwasong-15, the country has completed its nuclear force.
Darya Kozlova, Renat Goreev, Vadim Klevanov. Vesti.
Sergey Mingazhev, Aleksey Pichko. Vesti East Asian Office. Tokyo, Japan.