North Korea fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile toward waters off its east coast, further raising tensions in the region after the U.S. warned that its dispatch of troops to Russia could widen the war in Ukraine.
The missile was fired at a lofted angle from an area near Pyongyang early Thursday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a text message to reporters. The missile likely already fell, Japan’s Coast Guard said. It earlier said the projectile was expected to land outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) west of Okushiri, off the southwest coast of Hokkaido.
The firing marks North Korea’s first ICBM launch this year after it last tested the missile technology in December, and comes in a defiant show of force hours after Seoul and Washington criticized Pyongyang for deploying troops to Russia. The projectile flew for some 86 minutes, the longest flight recorded for a missile fired by Pyongyang, Japanese Minister of Defense Gen Nakatani told reporters.
North Korea has a habit of taking provocative actions, including conducting tests of ballistic missiles and nuclear devices, to coincide with the U.S. elections, and the latest launch appears aimed at drawing attention to its military might ahead of Tuesday’s U.S. vote.
The ICBM class of missile is the most powerful in its arsenal and designed to deliver a nuclear warhead to the U.S. mainland. Leader Kim Jong Un is seeking to miniaturize warheads for strikes in the region and increase the power of warheads for an ICBM.
Still, it’s unclear whether the country’s ICBMs could beat antimissile systems deployed in the U.S. It’s also unknown if Pyongyang’s weapons are refined enough to strike their intended targets, or whether the warheads could survive reentry into the atmosphere.
South Korea’s military has heightened its defense posture and is sharing related information with its U.S. and Japanese counterparts, the JCS said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday that the deployment of about 10,000 North Korean troops to Russia risks “lengthening or broadening the conflict,” after a meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Kim Yong-hyun.
In return for sending troops, there’s a “high chance” that North Korea will seek cutting-edge technology transfers from Russia — including technology related to tactical nuclear weapons, intercontinental ballistic missiles, reconnaissance satellites and ballistic missile submarines, South Korea’s Kim said.
The U.S. and its allies are monitoring the movements of North Korean troops that have been sent to Russia to gauge their possible engagement in the war in Ukraine. Some troops have been sent to the Kursk region in Russia where Ukrainian forces made gains this year.
The deepening ties between North Korea and Russia have alarmed the U.S. and its allies. The potential response to the situation may divide them, as they’ll have to decide whether to match North Korea’s moves with an escalation of their own.
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