TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th March, 2023) The missile fired by North Korea early on Thursday was presumably an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), flying at an altitude of 6,000 kilometers (3,728 miles), the Japanese Defense Ministry said.
Earlier in the day, Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said that North Korea had fired a missile that had landed outside of Japan's exclusive economic zone.
The missile was in the air for about 70 minutes. Its flight range is thought to exceed 15,000 kilometers, which means that the missile is able to cover the entire territory of the United States, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported, citing the Japanese Defense Ministry.
Following the launch, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced a convening of the National Security Council meeting with key ministers.
Meanwhile, the South Korean military suggested that the missile launched by North Korea was unlikely to have been a solid-fuel ICBM and suggested that it might have been the Hwasong-17 ICBM instead.
"We cannot now make statements with 100% certainty and are still analyzing the data, but the probability (that it was a solid-fuel ICBM) is low. The indicators coincide with the Hwasong-17-type rocket ... There are different possible options, and it is impossible to completely exclude the possibility of launching a solid-fuel ICBM, because the interim analysis results will appear in a day or two," the South Korean military told a press briefing.
The military also noted that North Korea had launched the ICBM as part of a "carefully planned reaction" ahead of the meeting between Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol scheduled for March 16-17.
This is the second time North Korea launched an ICBM this year, the South Korean military said. In 2022, Pyongyang launched at least 73 ballistic missiles, eight of which were intercontinental in nature.
