The Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) tentatively identified the projectile fired by North Korea on Thursday as intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM), adding that the South Korean military responded with its own missile tests from the air, land and sea.
 
The JCS said it detected a North Korean projectile that took off from the Sunan area in Pyongyang toward the East Sea at around 2:34 on Thursday afternoon. It explained that the projectile seems to have traveled one-thousand-80 kilometers while reaching an altitude of over 62-hundred kilometers.
 
North Korea has refrained from ICBM launches since it tested the Hwasong-15 in November 2017.
 
The JCS said the latest launch shows North Korea has scrapped its self-imposed moratorium on ICBM tests, calling it a serious threat to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the international community. It added that the provocation is a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
 
The South Korean military explained that some of its key missiles launched on Thursday afternoon demonstrate its commitment and capability to immediately respond in kind to any provocation.
 
Assets mobilized for the joint live-fire exercise include the Hyunmoo-2 surface-to-surface missile, the Haeseong-2 ship-to-surface missile and two JDAM air-to-surface missiles.
 
Military authorities stressed that they are capable enough and stand ready to precisely strike the staging area for North Korea’s missile tests and relevant command and support facilities. They condemned North Korea for rejecting dialogue with the international community and pressing ahead with an ICBM launch, describing it as a grave challenge to the South Korean military and the ROK-U.S. alliance.
 
The authorities confirmed that South Korea’s JCS chairman, Gen. Won In-choul, and commander of ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, Gen. Paul LaCamera held a video conference to share updates on the situation and pledged to maintain the allies’ defense readiness posture.