Now, with the world focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Pyongyang appears to have tested a weapon that could threaten the U.S. mainland. It remained unclear whether the launch was of a new and untested “monster missile” or the previously tested Hwasong-15, which had the range to deliver a single nuclear warhead anywhere in the United States.
The launch drew a strong condemnation from the White House, which called it a “brazen violation” of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts Thursday and agreed to coordinate on a response, including potential new sanctions, according to the Japanese and South Korean governments.
“We urge all countries to hold the DPRK accountable for such violations and call on the DPRK to come to the table for serious negotiations,” said press secretary Jen Psaki, referring to the country by its official acronym. “The door has not closed on diplomacy, but Pyongyang must immediately cease its destabilizing actions.”
For weeks, officials had warned that North Korea may test its new Hwasong-17, which is believed to be the world’s largest mobile ICBM and is designed to carry multiple warheads. North Korea revealed the weapon at a Workers’ Party of Korea military parade in 2020.
As in the 2017 ICBM launch, the missile went up at very steep trajectory that still shows it could reach the United States — and this time it went even higher and farther. According to Japanese and South Korean estimates, it traveled as far as 683 miles (1,100 km) and as high as 3,850 miles (6,200 km). It flew for 71 minutes — 17 minutes longer than the Hwasong-15 test in 2017.
If the missile were launched on a normal trajectory, it would reach the East Coast of the United States, reported Japanese media, citing unnamed officials.
Makoto Oniki, Japan’s deputy defense minister, said the missile is believed to be a new type of ICBM because of the increased height. The test was conducted near Pyongyang’s Sunan area, South Korean military officials said, which was the location of two recent launches believed to be ICBM related.
In response to the launch, South Korea fired its own missiles from land, sea and air to demonstrate its “capability and willingness to respond immediately and punish,” the military said.
The test comes at a particularly volatile time on the Korean Peninsula, which is in the midst of a presidential transition under an incoming leader, Yoon Suk-yeol, who has vowed to be tougher on North Korea than President Moon Jae-in’s pro-engagement administration. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is riveted by the crisis in Eastern Europe.
“The action threatens the peace and security for our country, region and the international community, and is absolutely unacceptable,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said shortly after landing in Brussels for a Group of Seven meeting. “Moving forward, working together with the U.S. and South Korea and relevant countries we will consider future actions including sanctions.”
In 2018, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un unilaterally declared a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests, while starting a flurry of diplomacy involving summit meetings with the leaders of South Korea and the United States. North Korea had recently warned it may lift its own moratorium after talks bogged down, and Thursday’s launch did just that.
In a statement, Moon said Kim “broke the moratorium on the ICBM that he promised to the international community, causing a serious threat to the Korean Peninsula, the surrounding region and the international community.”
Before Thursday, authorities had said North Korea launched parts of the Hwasong-17 on Feb. 26 and March 4. During those tests, the system was not launched at its full range or capability, officials in Seoul and Washington warned.
Pyongyang had not specified the types of rockets used in those tests, and said the launches were for developing a spy satellite system.
South Korea’s Defense Ministry said it is analyzing whether Thursday’s launch involved the new system.
Military tensions have been mounting on the Korean Peninsula amid an uptick in North Korea’s weapons testing activity since the beginning of the year. Thursday’s launch comes just eight days after a suspected ballistic missile fired from a Pyongyang airport exploded midair.
South Korea, meanwhile, plans to conduct its own test of a solid-fuel space rocket this month, in line with its plans to develop military satellites to monitor North Korea. In April, there will also be joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, which North Korea views as “hostile.”
Thursday’s launch comes as nuclear negotiations between North Korea and the United States remain deadlocked since a summit meeting between Kim and President Donald Trump collapsed over sanctions relief.
The U.N. Security Council slapped a set of draconian sanctions on North Korea after the spate of nuclear and missile tests in 2017. Thursday’s launch comes about two weeks after the U.S. Treasury Department rolled out new sanctions against North Korea, amid signs of the country’s preparations for an ICBM test.
Despite North Korea’s missile tests since autumn, China and Russia — two permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — have declined to issue new sanctions against North Korea, saying that the country had not tested any long-range missiles.
Kim reported from Seoul.