Missile test may put US in range

Christine Kim and Phil Stewart

North Korea launched what officials said was likely an intercontinental ballistic missile that flew high into space before landing near Japan on Wednesday, showing Pyongyang may now be able to reach Washington with its weapons.

Key points

North Korea’s latest ICBM launch suggests a range of more than 13,000km.

US President Donald Trump told reporters ‘‘we will handle’’ the situation.

Seoul/Washington| North Korea launched what officials said was likely an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that flew high into space before landing near Japan on Wednesday, showing Pyongyang may now be able to reach Washington with its weapons.

The missile test, North Korea’s first since mid-September, came a week after US President Donald Trump put North Korea back on a US list of countries it says support terrorism, allowing it to impose more sanctions.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his regime completed its nuclear program after firing the missile. North Korea ‘‘successfully’’ launched a new Hwasong-15 ICBM with improved technology, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said on Wednesday afternoon. He watched the test and ‘‘declared with pride that now we have finally realised the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force’’, KCNA said.

North Korea has conducted dozens of ballistic missile tests under its leader in defiance of international sanctions. Mr Trump has vowed not to let North Korea develop nuclear missiles that can hit the mainland United States.

The South Korean military said the missile reached an altitude of about 4500 kilometres – more than 10 times the height of the international space station – and flew 960km before landing in Japan’s exclusive economic zone. US, Japanese and South Korean officials all agreed it was likely an ICBM but it did not pose a threat to the United States, its territories or allies, the Pentagon said.

‘‘It went higher, frankly, than any previous shot they’ve taken; a research and development effort on their part to continue building ballistic missiles that can threaten everywhere in the world, basically,’’ US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters at the White House. Mr Trump spoke by phone with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, with all three reaffirming their commitment to combat the North Korean threat.

‘‘It is a situation that we will handle,’’ Mr Trump told reporters.

Mr Moon told Mr Trump during their call that North Korea’s missile technology seemed to have improved, a spokesman for the South Korean leader’s office said.

Mr Trump, who was briefed on the missile while it was in flight, said it did not change his administration’s approach to North Korea, which has included new curbs to hurt trade between China and North Korea.

Washington has said repeatedly that all options, including military ones, are on the table in dealing with North Korea. ‘‘Diplomatic options remain viable and open, for now,’’ US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said.

Other than carrying out existing UN sanctions, ‘‘the international community must take additional measures to enhance maritime security, including the right to interdict maritime traffic’’ travelling to North Korea, Mr Tillerson said in a statement.

The UN Security Council was scheduled to meet on Wednesday to discuss the launch, which Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned. ‘‘This is a clear violation of Security Council resolutions and shows complete disregard for the united view of the international community,’’ his spokesman said.

An official at South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said they presumed the missile was a Hwasong-14 – a two-stage ICBM North Korea tested twice in July.

Japanese officials said the missile flew for 53 minutes andbroke up before landing in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

‘‘If these numbers are correct, then if flown on a standard trajectory rather than this lofted trajectory, this missile would have a range of more than 13,000km,’’ the US-based Union of Concerned Scientists said. ‘‘Such a missile would have more than enough range to reach Washington, and in fact any part of the continental United States.’’

However, it was unclear how heavy a payload the missile was carrying, and it was uncertain if it could carry a large nuclear warhead that far, the nonprofit science advocacy group added.

Either way, experts believe North Korea will soon be able to threaten the continental US, if not already. ‘‘We don’t have to like it, but we’re going to have to learn to live with North Korea’s ability to target the US with nuclear weapons,’’ said Jeffrey Lewis, head of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of Strategic Studies.

Minutes after the North fired the missile, South Korea’s military conducted a missile-firing test in response, the South Korean military said.