JCS: "North Korea's Long-Range Ballistic Missile Presumed to Be ICBM"

Suspected New ICBM 'Hwaseong-17' Model

On the 24th, citizens are watching news about North Korea's long-range ballistic missile launch into the East Sea in the waiting room of Seoul Station. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced on the 24th that the long-range ballistic missile launched by North Korea into the East Sea is presumed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea fired one ballistic missile around 2:34 p.m. from the area near Pyongyang Sunan Airport. The missile, launched at a high angle, is presumed to be the new ICBM 'Hwasong-17'.

A Joint Chiefs of Staff official explained, "The maximum altitude was detected at about 6,200 km or higher, and the distance was about 1,080 km."

The Japanese government earlier identified this missile as the new ICBM (Hwasong-17). They explained that the maximum altitude was 6,000 km, it flew 1,100 km, and fell into the East Sea about 150 km west of the northernmost Japanese Hokkaido's Toshima Peninsula.

North Korea had previously launched ballistic missiles presumed to be ICBMs on the 27th of last month and the 5th of this month. On the 16th, they also fired a missile presumed to be the same type, but the launch failed as it exploded early in the air.

The trajectories of the previous three launches were shorter than those of ICBMs and were those of medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs). This is the first time in 4 years and 4 months since November 2017 that a missile has been launched at the maximum performance of an ICBM like this time.

North Korea voluntarily declared a moratorium in April 2018, announcing the closure of its nuclear test site and the suspension of nuclear tests and ICBM test launches.

President Moon Jae-in pointed out at the emergency meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) held on the same day, "Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, has unilaterally broken the moratorium on intercontinental ballistic missile launches promised to the international community." He stated that countermeasures will be taken based on South Korea-U.S. cooperation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.