North Korea launches intercontinental ballistic missile in attempt to influence US elections

The missile tested traveled a distance of 1,000 kilometers from its launch point inside North Korea until falling into the waters north of Japan and reached a maximum height of 7,000 kilometers, according to data collected by Tokyo and Seoul.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the projectile traveled a distance parabolic path or an almost vertical angle – which allows it to reach higher altitudes and travel further than usual – and indicated that it could be “a new type of ballistic missile”. long distance solid fuel“, collects Efe.

For his part, the Japanese Minister of Defense, General Nakatani, declared that the missile had flown for one hour and 26 minutes before falling, making it the longest-flying missile to date.

Warning to your enemies

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the new test was carried out with a intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) which demonstrates the country’s “determination to counterattack”, through a press release from the state agency KCNA.

The launch is “a military measure appropriate to inform enemies who have caused an intentional escalation of the regional situation and has recently posed a threat to national security,” Kim said in a statement released hours after the test.

The North Korean dictator also declared that the regime “I will never change your strategy develop its nuclear capabilities”, reports Efe.

South Korea noted that the launch represents a “clear violation” United Nations Security Council resolutions, and announced that he would propose extending international sanctions against Pyongyang to control its imports of components that can be used in solid fuel missiles.

The North’s previous ICBM launch took place on December 18 last year, when it tested a solid-fuel Hwasong-18 model.

War in Ukraine

The new test took place hours after the meeting held in Washington between the American and South Korean defense ministers, Lloyd Austin and Kim Yong-hyun.

At the meeting, both condemned the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia, which, according to Austin, have already approached the Ukrainian front and are equipped with Russian uniforms and equipment.

South Korean intelligence services are closely monitoring the presence and movements of North Korean troops in Ukraine and Seoul has sent a delegation to Brussels. inform the European Union and NATO on these issues, in addition to considering the deployment of a South Korean team in Ukraine to monitor developments on the ground.

South Korean intelligence services warned the day before that Pyongyang had completed preparations to carry out a new nuclear test and an intercontinental ballistic missile launchand predicted that some of these weapons tests could happen imminently, as the United States presidential elections approach. next November 5.

South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Lee Sung-jun said today that the timing of Pyongyang’s new ICBM launch demonstrates its willingness to expose its nuclear capabilities to the United Statesand thus send a message to the one who will become the new occupant of the Oval Office.

Some experts point out that in addition to a gesture directed towards WashingtonThe North’s new test could be a demonstration of its military might bolstered by its closer alliance with Moscow or an attempt to distract from sending troops to Russia.