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Updated May 25th, 2022 at 18:24 IST

North Korea test fired suspected ICBM, two more missiles, claims South Korea

South Korea claimed North Korea test-fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile and two shorter-range weapons toward its eastern waters on May 25.

Reported by: Aparna Shandilya
North Korea
Image: AP | Image:self
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South Korea claimed that North Korea test-fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile and two shorter-range weapons toward its eastern waters on May 25. If confirmed, it would be North Korea's first ICBM launch in nearly two months, amid stalled nuclear talks with the US. Despite the first COVID-19 outbreak, which has generated international concern about a humanitarian calamity, the launch indicates that North Korea is committed to continue modernising its weapons arsenal.

In an official statement, the South Korean government said, “North Korea’s sustained provocations can only result in stronger and faster South Korea-U.S. combined deterrence and can only deepen North Korea’s international isolation."

The reported launches, according to Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, were "an act of provocation and utterly illegal." Further, the US Indo-Pacific Command stated the missile launches demonstrate "the destabilising impact of (North Korea's) illicit weapons programme," but they do not pose a direct threat to US territory or allies. The three missiles were launched one after the other from the North's capital region on the morning of May 25, according to the South Korean military.

The first missile was evaluated as North's largest Hwasong-17 missile: South Korea

According to a military statement, the first missile was most certainly an ICBM that flew 360 kilometres and reached a maximum height of 540 kilometres. The second missile vanished from South Korean radar after some time, according to the statement, while the third missile flew 760 kilometres at an apogee of 60 kilometres. The first missile, according to South Korea's senior national security adviser Kim Tae-hyo, was evaluated as the North's largest Hwasong-17 missile, with a potential range that spans the whole US mainland.

He said the missile was launched at a high angle and appeared to be intended at testing the weapon's propellant and stage separations, though he couldn't say for sure if the test was successful. The launches of the two other missiles, both short-range weapons, he claimed, indicated North Korea's desire to increase its ability to launch nuclear attacks on its adversaries. While the North Korean launches were part of the country's weapons development programme, they were also strategically timed to coincide with the end of Biden's Asian tour and were most likely designed to test the readiness of South Korea's new government, which took office about two weeks ago, according to Kim Tae-hyo.

(With inputs from AP, Image: AP)

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Published May 25th, 2022 at 18:23 IST

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