N. Korea claims to have successfully tested solid-fuel supersonic intermediate-range ballistic ...

N. Korea claims to have successfully tested solid-fuel supersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile 북한 “극초음속 고체연료 IRBM 시험발사 성공“ 최선희 외무상 오늘 러시아 방문 North Korea announced a few hours ago that it was a solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile that they fired on Sunday and that the launch was successful. And the North’s top diplomat, Choe Son-hui, is reportedly on her way to Russia. Bae Eun-ji leads us this morning. North Korea’s state media claimed Monday that it successfully tested a solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile, carrying a hypersonic warhead the day before, as part of the regime’s regular activities to develop its weapons systems. It said the test firing did not affect the security of neighboring countries and that it had nothing to do with any situation in the region. The North fired the missile toward waters off its east coast at about 3 PM on Sunday afternoon. The South Korean military assessed that the missile, launched from an area near Pyongyang, appears to have been an intermediate-range ballistic missile that traveled about 1,000 kilometers before landing in the East Sea. It added that it shared information on the missile with the U.S. and Japan, and that it’s analyzing further details of the launch. In the meantime, the top nuclear envoys from the three nations held a phone call on Sunday and strongly condemned the launch. They said the latest launch has once again shown that North Korea’s illegal provocations are the causes of instability in the region, and warned that the security cooperation between the three countries will only become stronger as the regime continues to engage in more provocations. Sunday’s missile launch comes about two months after the North claimed to have successfully tested new solid-fuel engines for intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Solid fuel powered missiles are harder to detect than liquid fuel ones. And intermediate-range missiles have a maximum range of 5,500 kilometers, which means they’re capable of striking U.S. military bases in Guam or Okinawa in Japan. Meanwhile, the North also announced that its foreign minister Choe Son-hui will be visiting Russia. Its state media said Sunday that her visit will take place from Monday to Wednesday, at the invitation of her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. The two isolated governments have been forging ties, following a rare summit between their leaders last September. Officials from South Korea and the U.S. have said the North appears to be supplying military equipment to Russia for use in its war with Ukraine, while Russia was providing technological support for the North’s satellite and missile programs. Bae Eun-ji, Arirang News. #IRBM #NorthKorea #Intermediate_range_ballistic_missile #military_provocation #weapons #북한 #극초음속_고체연료_IRBM_시험발사 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2024-01-15, 09:00 (KST)