North Korea has confirmed it test-launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. territory of Guam.
Sunday’s launch could be a prelude to bigger provocations by North Korea such as nuclear and long-range missile tests that pose a direct threat to the U.S. mainland, as the North is ramping up pressure on the Biden administration amid stalled nuclear diplomacy.
North Korea said the missile was launched toward the waters off its east coast and on a high angle to prevent it from overflying other countries. It gave no further details. The Hwasong-12 missile is a nuclear-capable ground-to-ground weapon, whose maximum range is 4,500 kilometers when it’s fired on a standard trajectory. It’s a distance sufficient to reach the U.S. territory of Guam. In August 2017, at the height of animosities with the then-Trump administration, North Korea’s Strategic Forces threatened to make “an enveloping fire” near Gaum with Hwasong-12 missiles.
Analyst Cheong Seong-Chang at the private Sejong Inistitute in South Korea said North Korea’s Hwaseong-12 launch was seen as partially breaking the weapons test moratorium. In April 2018, when North Korea announced a suspension of nuclear and ICBM tests ahead of now-dormant diplomacy with the Trump administration, Kim said North Korea didn’t need to test intermediate-range missiles as well.
The Biden administration plans to respond to the latest missile test in the coming days with an unspecified move meant to demonstrate to the North that it is committed to allies’ security in the region, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.
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