N. Korea Fires ICBM, JCS Condemns UNSC Violations
Anchor: North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile into the East Sea on Monday morning, the second provocation in less than 12 hours after firing a short-range ballistic missile Sunday night. Responding to the launch, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff condemned the acts as violations of UN Security Council resolutions.
Max Lee reports.
Report: The Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) said that North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile at 8:24 a.m. Monday morning.
The missile took a lofted trajectory from Pyongyang, flying one-thousand kilometers before landing in the East Sea, leading to estimations that a standard-angle launch poses a threat to the U.S. mainland with a range of more than 15-thousand kilometers.
The launch marked the North’s fifth intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM) launch this year and the first in five months since test-firing the Hwasong-18 ICBM in July.
The JCS noted that South Korea, the U.S. and Japan jointly elevated their alert readiness and are maintaining a full readiness posture by closely sharing data on the ballistic missile launch.
The three allies agreed to operate a system for the real-time sharing of North Korea ballistic missile warning data by the end of this year that is reportedly in the final verification stage.
Monday’s ICBM launch came less than 24 hours after the North launched a short-range ballistic missile at around 10:40 p.m. Sunday night, which also fell into the East Sea after flying 570 kilometers, nearly the same distance as Pyongyang to Busan, where the U.S.’ nuclear-powered USS Missouri submarine arrived on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the JCS condemned North Korea’s back-to-back provocations, calling them violations of UN Security Council resolutions.
It added that the actions are serious provocations that threaten the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula as well as the international community.
The launch on Sunday appears to coincide with the 12th anniversary of the death of late regime leader Kim Jong-il.
Max Lee, KBS World Radio News.
[Photo : YONHAP News]
