North Korea missile had range to reach US mainland, says Japan

A missile fired on Friday by North Korea had sufficient range to reach the United States mainland and was capable of flying as far as 15,000km (9,320 miles), Japan’s defence minister, Yasukazu Hamada, said.

The projectile, in the class of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), reached an altitude of 6,000km, covering a range of 1,000km on a lofted trajectory, Hirokazu Matsuno, the chief cabinet secretary, had said earlier.

It landed about 200km west of Oshima-Oshima island in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido.

The North Korean missile was launched a day after Pyongyang warned the United States to halt allied military drills in the region or face retribution.

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US president Joe Biden was briefed and resolved to bolster security ties with Japan and South Korea, a National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement.

The test came hours after US vice-president Kamala Harris arrived in Bangkok to join the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Ms Harris held an impromptu meeting with leaders from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea on the sidelines of the event Friday to consult on next steps.

“We strongly condemn these actions, and we again call for North Korea to stop further unlawful, destabilising acts, she said at the start of the meeting. “I reaffirmed our ironclad commitment to our Indo-Pacific alliances. Together, the countries represented here will continue to urge North Korea to commit to serious and sustained diplomacy.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff called the launch a grave provocation and serious threat that harms peace. – Agencies