NKorea fires suspected long-range missile designed to hit US

https://apnews.com/article/seoul-south-korea-north-joint-chiefs-of-staff-government-and-politics-88877108b80a1be9cc9a47156c3f77fa

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired a suspected long-range missile designed to strike the mainland U.S. on Friday, its neighbors said, a day after the North resumed its testing activities in an apparent protest over U.S. moves to solidify its alliances with South Korea and Japan.

The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that it detected a ballistic missile launch off the North’s eastern coast on Friday morning. It later said the missile launched is likely an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The Japanese Defense Ministry also said in a statement that North Korea fired an ICBM-class ballistic missile from its western coastal area that flew toward its eastern waters across the country. It said the missile, launched at around 10:14 a.m. (0114GMT) was still in flight and may land inside of the Japanese Exclusive Economic Zone.

If confirmed, it would be North Korea’s first ICBM launch in about two weeks. Outside experts said that an ICBM launched by North Korea on Nov. 3 failed to fly its intended flight.

The Nov. 3 test was believed to have involved a new type of developmental ICBM. North Korea has two other types of ICBM — Hwasong-14 and Hwasong-15 and their test-launches in 2017 proved they could potentially reach parts of the U.S. homeland.