Skip to main content

Pentagon: North Korea Launches Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

CBN

Share This article

(UPDATE 2:00 p.m. EST) North Korea has launched "one unidentified missile" from its northern Jagang province, the South Korean Defense Ministry announced in a statement. The Pentagon confirmed to CBN News that it has also identified a missile launch from the North.

A Pentagon official says the U.S. believes it was an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM.

Citing the Japanese chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, The Associated Press reports the missile "flew for about 45 minutes and appeared to have landed in the waters of Japan's exclusive economic zone."

There have been no immediate reports of damage.

In a statement, President Trump said the launch "is only the latest reckless and dangerous action by the North Korean regime. The United States condemns this test and and rejects the regime's claim that these tests -- and weapons -- enusure North Korean security. In reality, they have the opposite effect."

The missile launch follows a string of tests by the North Korean regime this year, the most recent of which came earlier this month. That test marked a milestone for Pyongyang: a successful intercontinental missile launch.

"Testing an ICBM [intercontinental ballistic missile] represents a new escalation of the threat to the United States, our allies and partners, the region and the world," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement at the time. "Global action is required to stop a global threat."

Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has called an emergency meeting of senior officials.

"We will immediately analyze information and do our utmost to protect the safety of the Japanese people," he said.

 

 

Share This article