Japan: North Korea today launched a missile that could reach the United States
Japan: North Korea today launched a missile that could reach the United States
2023-02-18 07:01
Shafaq News / The Japanese Minister of Defense revealed today, Saturday, that North Korea launched an intercontinental missile capable of reaching the United States, while Tokyo protested the launch of the new missile.
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said in a press conference, “North Korea launched at least one intercontinental ballistic missile from the capital area, Pyeongpang, in the eastern direction, and at the present time this information is being confirmed, but we believe that its flight lasted 66 minutes and fell in the Sea of Japan.” 200 kilometers west of Ushima Island, Hokkaido Prefecture, within our country’s exclusive economic zone.
“Based on the analysis of information about today’s launch, if the ICBM is launched along a conventional trajectory, it could have a flight range of 14,000 kilometers and could reach the US mainland,” the Japanese minister added.
For his part, the Secretary-General of the Japanese government, Hirokazu Matsuno, did not rule out that North Korea would continue to carry out provocative actions, including launching serious missiles and even conducting nuclear tests.
“The missile’s expected flight range is about 900 km, while its maximum flight altitude is 5,700 km,” Matsuno added.
He also pointed out that “repeated missile launches by North Korea, including the most recent one, pose a security threat to our country and the international community, describing it as completely unacceptable.”
“We do not rule out that North Korea will continue to carry out provocative actions later, including launching new missiles and conducting nuclear tests,” the Japanese official added.
The Japanese government lodged a strong protest to North Korea through diplomatic channels in Beijing in light of the new missile launch.
The US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) stated that the North Korean missile launch did not pose any direct threat to the United States and its allies. She explained that the US side was aware of North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile and is in close consultations with South Korea, Japan and other “allies and regional partners” in this regard.
“The United States condemns these actions and calls on North Korea to avoid any further illegal and destabilizing actions,” she said in a statement. “While we have concluded that what happened does not pose any immediate threat to US citizens or territory, or the security of our allies, we will continue to monitor the situation.” “.
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