Suspected intercontinental ballistic missile test thought to be first since 2017
The US has condemned North Korea’s test-firing of a new intercontinental ballistic missile.
The American government on Thursday urged the world to hold Pyongyang responsible for breaching UN Security Council resolutions.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington “strongly condemns the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for its test of a long-range ballistic missile”.
“This launch is a brazen violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions and needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilising the security situation in the region.”
South Korea and Japan reported the launch of a suspected ICBM, thought to be for the first time since 2017.
The US Armed Forces’ Indo-Pacific Command said the launch did not pose an immediate threat to US territory or personnel, or its allies. It said North Korea must stop such destabilising acts.
North Korea on Thursday conducted what is thought to be its largest ICBM test, militaries in South Korea and Japan said. If so, it would be the first full-capability launch of the nuclear-armed state’s largest missiles since 2017.
It brought to a dramatic end a self-imposed moratorium on long-range testing and represents a major step in North Korea’s development of weapons that could deliver nuclear warheads anywhere in the US.
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