North Korea conducted a long-range ballistic missiles test, which Japanese officials reported as theoretically capable of reaching any part of the US mainland. Notably, this marks the regime’s first missile test in approximately a month. The North Korea ballistic missiles covered a distance of about 1,000km (620 miles), with a maximum altitude exceeding 6,000km before landing in the sea east of the Korean peninsula on Monday.
Shingo Miyake, Japan’s parliamentary vice-minister of defense, indicated that the missile’s potential range could exceed 15,000km, encompassing the entire US territory. Authorities are diligently working to confirm whether the missile qualifies as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Miyake emphasized the need for further analysis based on the missile’s flight distance and maximum altitude.
The projectile reportedly fell into the sea beyond Japan’s exclusive economic zone near the northernmost main island of Hokkaido, causing no reported damage to aircraft or ships. Residents of Hokkaido, who have experienced North Korean missiles flying over the island in test flights, remain vigilant.
In response, the Japanese government lodged a protest and swiftly convened a meeting of its national security council. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned the launch, along with the test-firing of a shorter-range missile the previous night. He emphatically underscored that these actions violated UN Security Council resolutions, posing a serious threat to regional peace and stability.
US State Department
The US State Department echoed this sentiment, stating that the launches, consistent with previous ballistic missile launches by Pyongyang, contravene multiple UN Security Council resolutions. North Korea has tested several ICBMs theoretically capable of reaching any part of the US, although doubts persist about the regime’s technology to carry multiple nuclear warheads over such long distances.
Observers suggest that North Korea’s consecutive launches serve as a protest against joint efforts by South Korea and the US to reinforce nuclear deterrence plans in response to Pyongyang’s increasing nuclear threat. In recent developments, US and South Korean officials met in Washington to comprehensively update their deterrence and contingency strategies, simultaneously incorporating nuclear operation scenarios in joint military exercises.
Tensions between the Koreas escalated after North Korea launched a military reconnaissance satellite in violation of UN bans. Consequently, South Korea, the US, and Japan condemned the move, interpreting it as an effort by North Korea to enhance its missile technology and establish a space-based surveillance system. Subsequently, South Korea announced plans to resume frontline aerial surveillance, prompting North Korea to restore border guard posts, thereby breaching a 2018 inter-Korean deal on easing military tensions. North Korea’s recent actions are perceived as part of an effort to form a “counter-alliance” with Russia and China against the US and its allies.