North Korea Launches New Missile, Says It Can Reach US Mainland
North Korea said it successfully tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile on Wednesday in a "breakthrough" that puts the U.S. mainland within range of its nuclear weapons, and increases pressure on U.S. President Donald Trump to deal with Pyongyang.
Trump, who has vowed to halt North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday and urged Beijing to rein in its ally North Korea.
The latest missile test was the highest and longest any North Korean missile had flown, landing in the sea near Japan.
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It was fired a week after Trump put North Korea back on a U.S. list of countries it says support terrorism, allowing it to impose more sanctions.
North Korea, which conducted its largest nuclear bomb test in September, has tested dozens of ballistic missiles under its leader, Kim Jong Un, in defiance of international sanctions.
North Korea said the new missile reached an altitude of about 4,475 km (2,780 miles) — more than 10 times the height of the International Space Station — and flew 950 km (590 miles) during its 53-minute flight.
"After watching the successful launch of the new type ICBM Hwasong-15, Kim Jong Un declared with pride that now we have finally realized the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force, the cause of building a rocket power," according to a statement read by a television presenter.
State media said the missile was launched from a newly developed vehicle and that the warhead could withstand the pressure of re-entering the atmosphere, which if confirmed would be an important technical advance.
Kim personally guided the missile test and said the new launcher was "impeccable," state media said. He described the new vehicle as a "breakthrough."
North Korea also described itself as a "responsible nuclear power," saying its strategic weapons were developed to defend itself from "the U.S. imperialists' nuclear blackmail policy and nuclear threat."
Trump said additional major sanctions would now be imposed on North Korea.
"Just spoke to President Xi Jinping of China concerning the provocative actions of North Korea. Additional major sanctions will be imposed on North Korea today. This situation will be handled!" Trump wrote on Twitter. He gave no other details about the sanctions.
The U.N. Security Council was scheduled to meet on Wednesday to discuss the launch.
Many nuclear experts say the North has yet to prove it has mastered all technical hurdles, including the ability to deliver a heavy nuclear warhead reliably atop an ICBM, but it was likely that it soon would.
"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 United States with nuclear weapons," said Jeffrey Lewis, head of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of Strategic Studies.
'THREATEN EVERYWHERE'
U.S., Japanese and South Korean officials all agreed the missile, which landed within Japan's exclusive economic zone, was likely an ICBM. The test itself 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," U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters at the White House.
Trump also 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," Trump told reporters.
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 while stressing its desire for a peaceful solution.
"Diplomatic options remain viable and open, for now," U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said.
Other than enforcing existing U.N. sanctions, "the international community must take additional measures to enhance maritime security, including the right to interdict maritime traffic" traveling to North Korea, Tillerson said in a statement.
China, North Korea's lone major ally, expressed "grave concern" at the test, while calling for all sides to act cautiously.
U.S. EAST COAST IN RANGE?
The new Hwasong-15, named after the planet Mars, was a more advanced version of an ICBM tested twice in July, North Korea said. It was designed to carry a "super-large heavy warhead."
Based on its trajectory and distance, the missile would have a range of more than 13,000 km (8,100 miles) — more than enough to reach Washington D.C. and the rest of the United States, the U.S.-based Union of Concerned Scientists said.
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.
Minutes after the North fired the missile, South Korea's military said it conducted a missile-firing test in response.
